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.
Google is a serial killer. https://twitter.com/...
@sub8u
Subrahmanyam Kvj on x
Google's attempts at social and communication tools! https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jorgeo
Jorge Ortiz on x
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:…
@brianbest
Brian Best on x
The only reliable think you could say about Google's messaging strategy is it will change every year or two https://twitter.com/...
@rakeshlobster
Rakesh Agrawal on x
Is there a major company this bad at branding? https://twitter.com/...
@koush
@koush on x
and so continues the death and rebirth cycle of the Google Messaging strategy. a snake eating its tail. https://9to5google.com/...
@rashmi
Rashmi Sinha on x
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/...
@dinodaizovi
Dino A. Dai Zovi on x
Duo is end-to-end encrypted, Meet is not. https://twitter.com/...
@seldo
Laurie Voss on x
Literally have no idea which google products either of these names refer to, they've both been rebranded too many times. https://twitter.com/...
@tomwarren
Tom Warren on x
This makes a lot of sense. It's clear Google is getting serious about Meet to take on Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams https://twitter.com/...
@baxiabhishek
Abhishek Baxi on x
Even a pandemic cannot stop Google's messaging shenanigans. https://twitter.com/...
@rsarver
Ryan Sarver on x
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/...
@wongmjane
Jane Manchun Wong on x
not again 😩 https://twitter.com/...
@sarthakgh
Sar Haribhakti on x
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/...
@mat
Mat Honan on x
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/...
@smcolbert
@smcolbert on x
I just want to know what app I can comfortably use for the next 5 years. https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton
Casey Newton on x
Would personally prefer to see Duo split into Duo Meets, Duo Hangouts, and Duo Chat https://twitter.com/...
@rustybrick
Barry Schwartz on x
Google is going to consolidate video calling software? That is unlike them... https://twitter.com/...
@ronamadeo
Ron Amadeo on x
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/...
@maxwinebach
Max Weinbach on x
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/...
@mishaalrahman
Mishaal Rahman on x
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/...
@joemaring1
Joe Maring on x
Google never ceases to amaze me at how it never knows what to do with literally any of is branding https://twitter.com/...
@joannastern
Joanna Stern on x
Who could have seen this coming? https://twitter.com/...
@onejarednewman
Jared Newman on x
“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/...