Today's report says the endgame is one app: sources tell 9to5Google that Google plans to eventually replace Duo with Meet, and has placed its consumer communication services under G Suite head Javier Soltero — putting both consumer and enterprise video under a single executive. The plan was later borne out when Google moved to merge Duo and Meet into a single platform under the Meet brand, built on Duo's app.
First-order effects
Duo users face an eventual forced migration onto Meet, while Soltero's G Suite organization gains ownership of Google's consumer communication services alongside its enterprise ones.
Second-order effects
Meet becomes Google's single video-calling surface spanning consumer and G Suite customers, letting the company concentrate development and marketing spend that had been split between two apps.
Third-order effects
If the consolidation holds, Google's communication strategy settles into fewer, longer-lived brands rather than the serial launches-and-retirements that produced Duo, Meet, and Chat out of Hangouts — reducing the churn that has repeatedly reset its user base.
The trend: Google is consolidating a fragmented messaging and video portfolio into a single Meet-branded platform under unified leadership.
The secret to understanding Google's product roadmap is to understand their promotion system. To get promoted quickly+often at Google: 1) join a team 2) rewrite the old thing into the new thing 3) get promoted for the rewrite 4) find a new team to join that needs a rewrite https:…
Since consumers have no idea what is Duo and Meet or other chat / meet brands from Google, they can rebrand as often as they want https://twitter.com/...
Dear lord - FINALLY! Go @jsoltero. We all need a strong messaging competitor from Google. They have been a messaging zombie for years for no good reason. Excited to see what Javier does. https://twitter.com/...
There are lots of highly paid people at Google whose sole job is to keep cycling through names for its communication product and create an illusion there are lots of products https://twitter.com/...
Tip for tech reporters looking for a scoop: If you're having a slow news day just call up google comms and ask about its new messaging product. Good odds you'll get a confirmation. https://twitter.com/...
We're “fully invested” in Duo, says the company that just added a giant Google Meet button to the bottom of every consumer Gmail account. Not buying it. https://9to5google.com/... https://twitter.com/...
I can understand replacing Meet with Duo, BUT REPLACING DUO WITH MEET. WHAT GOOGLE. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS. Duo is perfect how it just, you don't need to touch it. https://9to5google.com/...
Google would be making a big mistake replacing Duo with Meet. Duo is mainstream - my dad uses it to video chat with many of his patients (many of whom are elderly!) It's the Android version of FaceTime to them. Don't ruin what you have. https://9to5google.com/...
“We're told by sources that this new direction and the reduced interest in building a dedicated consumer service came as a surprise to the Duo team.” Classic. https://twitter.com/...