Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Google Meet and Google Duo begin confusing merger

By

Google has begun the next phase of merging its Duo and Meet video chat apps into one service.

The brand sent out an update on Wednesday, which will change the Google Duo icon to Google Meet. The update is largely aesthetic but is set to roll out for Android and iOS devices over the coming weeks. You can expect to receive a home screen notification explaining how Google Duo has been merged into Google Meet.

Google services (YouTube, Gmail, Chrome, Duo, Meet, Google Podcasts) icons app on smartphone screen.
Koshiro K / Shutterstock

The brand detailed in June that it has plans to meld the two chat services into a more professional video meeting system, which will be branded under a single name, Google Meet. The transition quickly began in July with Google Google started making changes to the system, moving several Meet features onto Duo, including:

  • Custom virtual backgrounds for video communication
  • Meeting scheduling
  • In-meeting chatrooms
  • In-call live-share of content
  • Real-time closed captions
  • Video call limit increased from 32 to 100 participants
  • Google tools integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Assistant, Messages, and more.
  • The brand also sent out an update, changing the app icon to “Google Meet (original).”
Recommended Videos

TechCrunch noted that many frequent Google Meet users likely wouldn’t have noticed the icon shift as a major change. However, once the August update hits devices, they will be forced to notice the transition. The publication also added as the merge continues, you’ll need a Google account to access the singular Meet features. Previously, Duo as a call app only required a phone number.

As the merge culminates around September, everyone will see the new Google Meet icon and app name, and those who want to install Google video messaging service for the first time will have to assess the new Google Meet app, which will be available at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

The Google Meet (original) app will be available for some time, but it will eventually be retired, with its users receiving a recommendation to update to the new application.

Google is also updating its Google Meet branding on its Duo on the Web services as of Wednesday; however, transitioning that platform completely to the new system is planned over the next several months, the brand said.

The fate of Google Duo being merged into Google Meet seems to simply be a numbers game, as opposed to scrapping the app altogether. 9to5Google noted in June that Google Duo has 5 billion Android downloads, in comparison to Google Meet, which has over 100 million downloads.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Fionna Agomuoh
Fionna Agomuoh
Computing Writer
Fionna Agomuoh is a technology journalist with over a decade of experience writing about various consumer electronics topics…
Google’s Gemini AI is Microsoft Clippy for a new generation
Google Workspace in Firefox on a Windows laptop.

The spirit of Clippy has returned. As it promised at I/O earlier in the month, Google announced Monday that it has begun rolling out the Gemini AI sidebar for its Workspace application suite, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive.

"Gemini can assist you with summarizing, analyzing, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more," the announcement blog reads.

Read more
Google is bringing AI to the classroom — in a big way
a teacher teaching teens

Google is already incorporating its Gemini AI assistant into the rest of its product ecosystem to help individuals and businesses streamline their existing workflows. Now, the Silicon Valley titan is looking to bring AI into the classroom.
While we've already seen the damage that teens can do when given access to generative AI, Google argues that it is taking steps to ensure the technology is employed responsibly by students and academic faculty alike.
Following last year's initial rollout of a teen-safe version of Gemini for personal use, the company at the time decided to not enable the AI's use with school-issued accounts. That will change in the coming months as Google makes the AI available free of charge to students in over 100 countries though its Google Workspace for Education accounts and school-issued Chromebooks.
Teens that meet Google's minimum age requirements -- they have to be 13 or older in the U.S., 18 or over in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, Canada, and the U.K. -- will be able to converse with Gemini as they would on their personal accounts. That includes access to features like Help me write, Help me read, generative AI backgrounds, and AI-powered noise cancellation. The company was quick to point out that no personal data from this program will be used to train AI models, and that school administrators will be granted admin access to implement or remove features as needed.
What's more, teens will be able to organize and track their homework assignments through Google Task and Calendar integrations as well as collaborate with their peers using Meet and Assignments.
Google Classroom will also integrate with the school's Student Information System (SIS), allowing educators to set up classes and import pertinent data such as student lists and grading settings. They'll also have access to an expanded Google for Education App Hub with 16 new app integrations including Kami, Quizizz, and Screencastify available at launch.
Students will also have access to the Read Along in Classroom feature, which provides them with real-time, AI-based reading help. Conversely, educators will receive feedback from the AI on the student's reading accuracy, speed, and comprehension.
In the coming months, Google also hopes to introduce the ability for teachers to generate personalized stories tailored to each student's specific education needs. The feature is currently available in English, with more than 800 books for teachers to choose from, though it will soon offer support for other languages, starting with Spanish.
Additionally, Google is piloting a suite of Gemini in Classroom tools that will enable teachers to "define groups of students in Classroom to assign different content based on each group’s needs." The recently announced Google Vids, which helps users quickly and easily cut together engaging video clips, will be coming to the classroom as well. A non-AI version of Vids arrives on Google Workspace for Education Plus later this year, while the AI-enhanced version will only be available as a Workspace add-on.
That said, Google has apparently not forgotten just how emotionally vicious teenagers can be. As such, the company is incorporating a number of safety and privacy tools into the new AI system. For example, school administrators will be empowered to prevent students from initiating direct messages and creating spaces to hinder bullying.
Admins will also have the option to block access to Classroom from compromised Android and iOS devices, and can require multiparty approval (i.e. at least two school officials) before security-sensitive changes (like turning off two-step authentication) can be implemented.
Google is introducing a slew of accessibility features as well. Chromebooks will get a new Read Aloud feature in the Chrome browser, for example. Extract Text from PDF will leverage OCR technology to make PDFs accessible to screen readers through the Chrome browser, while the Files app will soon offer augmented image labels to assist screen readers with relaying the contents of images in Chrome.
Later this year, Google also plans to release a feature that will allow users to control their Chromebooks using only their facial expressions and head movements.
These features all sound impressive and should help bring AI into the classroom in a safe and responsible manner -- in theory, at least. Though given how quickly today's teens can exploit security loopholes to bypass their school's web filters, Google's good intentions could ultimately prove insufficient.

Read more
I compared ChatGPT against Google Gemini to see which is the better free AI chatbot
A person typing on a laptop that is showing the ChatGPT generative AI website.

Two of the leading AI chatbots available today come from Google, with its Gemini system, and OpenAI, the company that kicked off the AI revolution with ChatGPT.
But you might be wondering which is the better free chatbot. I've spent a significant time with both to see how they compare, break down the costs and benefits of each service, explain what features you'll have to pay for and which you get for free, and show you which AI is best for what you need.

Pricing and tiers
Both ChatGPT and Gemini are available to the public for free at their respective websites and through their mobile apps. However, free tier users will only receive limited access to the most current and capable models.

Read more