Google announced today that it will merge Google Duo and Google Meet, two of its video-calling apps, into a single platform. Soon, Google Meet will be the sole calling app consumers will need for almost everything in their lives, and Google hopes it will be that app.
Google hopes that by combining the two, it will be able to address some of the issues that plague modern communication systems. What’s been particularly crucial, according to Javier Soltero, the head of Google Workspace, is knowing how individuals choose which tool to use, for what purpose, and under what circumstances.
Combining Meet and Duo
There are a million different chat applications in our digital lives, each with its own set of rules, standards, and contact list, some for work and some for personal use. Google is seeking to connect everything with Gmail addresses and phone numbers.
Soltero believes that being able to contact us in this way, and being able to choose whether or not we want to be reached, is far more essential and powerful than having to manage all of these multiple identities and dealing with the consequences.
For the majority of his time at Google, Soltero has preached the concept of “reachability,” which has prompted Google to merge Meet and Chat into so many of its other programs. It’s a noble ambition, but it comes with a price: adding everything to everything has crowded and complicated some of Google’s services.
We can hold a meeting from any location. Do you, on the other hand, really want to? It’s a wonderful idea to streamline our communication options, but squeezing everything together haphazardly won’t work.
Google Meet in its Earlier Days
Google Meet has evolved into a robust platform for meetings and group conversations of all kinds in recent years, whereas Duo has remained primarily a messaging software. Google claims it will bring all of Duo’s capabilities to Google Meet in the future, and it appears to believe it can provide the best of both worlds.
But it’s not exactly accurate to claim Duo is being murdered. The software, which was first released by Google in 2016 as a simple way to make one-to-one video calls, does a few things that Meet doesn’t.
For one thing, rather than sending links or clicking the huge Meet button on your Google Calendar invite, you may call someone directly, including their phone number. In that regard, Duo has always been closer to FaceTime than Zoom. At the same time as Duo, Google released Allo, an iMessage competitor.
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