Google’s video chat merger begins: Now there are two “Google Meet” apps

Duo is being rebranded to Google Meet, and old Google Meet is still sticking around?

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[snacks]

There's an audio only option in Duo

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

It's amazing how often Google product merges end up deleting features. I'm still salty about YouTube Music missing half of Play Music's functionality. Ultimately had to unsubscribe, after 10 years of being a customer.

 

[Decoherent]

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

Discord is what you're looking for. It's slowly eaten all of the other communication methods in our family, as well.

 

[nzod]

-- never mind --

 

[palombasso]

In Brazil the solution is everyone uses Whatsapp for text, video, audio, memes .

Personal, business, transactions..android, IOS, old Nokia's, it doesn't matter.

 

[macosandlinux]

"Duo" was confusing because there's also a 2-factor authentication app called Duo.

Well, Duo means 'two' so at least two messaging apps with the same name makes sense now? /s

 

[Andomagnus]

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

Discord is what you're looking for. It's slowly eaten all of the other communication methods in our family, as well.

Same here. Discord is the only way we all communicate; SMS and phone calls are still done the traditional way exclusively for only “external” comms. Bonus: It also means if I want to switch off from the outside world, I can without sacrificing family communication.

 

[jock2nerd]

At this point, I'm sure that Google's ridiculous handling of the chat and meeting apps can't be explained by incompetence alone, I see intent there. There must now be a manager that coordinates all meeting app endeavors: make sure many show promise, that a maximum amount of them are done in parallel and then, when one becomes used and pretty good, it will be randomly shut down.
The goal of the job would be to make sure that Google is not becoming successful in any meaningful way. To sabotage all efforts in an efficient way and make sure the names are confusing, reuse names like google meet (that got cancelled before), use confusion to maximum effect ;-)

Not incompetence per se, but a broken incentive system.

Launching a new product is the way to advance within Google, whereas maintaining and improving an existing product is viewed as a managerial backwater.

 

[MechR]

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

It's amazing how often Google product merges end up deleting features. I'm still salty about YouTube Music missing half of Play Music's functionality. Ultimately had to unsubscribe, after 10 years of being a customer.

They do have that! It's the phone app.

Doesn't work very well when you've got headphones on to listen to the game, don't get cell service, etc.

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

It's amazing how often Google product merges end up deleting features. I'm still salty about YouTube Music missing half of Play Music's functionality. Ultimately had to unsubscribe, after 10 years of being a customer.

Just…don’t turn on the camera? It doesn’t force you to make it a video call. You can turn off the mics too for the ultimate in Zen meetings. Everybody muted and staring at static images.

For both my friend and I it forces us to turn on video, at the start. After the call starts we can then disable cameras. Which is a silly oversight if you ask me.

Duo has an audio-only call button, as someone noted. In fact, if you start as an audio call, you can't turn video on if you change your mind mid-call, which is annoying.

 

[PhaseShifter]

I first looked at the picture... Chat, Meet, Voice, Messages....

Signal does chat
Signal does video
Signal does voice (okay, no POTS calling)
Signal does sms messages (on android)

Why would anyone want four different applications when one will do?

That would be great!
I have Signal. I would love to use it.

Unfortunately, my friends don't.
All my contacts use Facebook messenger, Slack, or Discord.

 

[foobarian]

What a clown show.

 

[Holochron]

I imagine whoever is in charge of this stuff must spend their day scratching their butt and sniffing their fingers. How can the messaging incompetence go on so long? FYI I didn’t read the article. I’m sure it was like all the other articles about googles mismanagement of chat apps.

 

[Wheaty73]

This is good - makes sense to rebrand the Duo app, which I have found to be really good for video calling but does clash a bit with Duo the 2FA. I never used Meet the Meetings app, but the brand was there on my GMail and everything else.

So this is actually a sensible Messaging strategy from Google rather than their usual 'what sticks' approach...

 

[Jedakiah]

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

It's amazing how often Google product merges end up deleting features. I'm still salty about YouTube Music missing half of Play Music's functionality. Ultimately had to unsubscribe, after 10 years of being a customer.

They do have that! It's the phone app.

Doesn't work very well when you've got headphones on to listen to the game, don't get cell service, etc.

What annoys me, is that there is no longer an audio-only chat option that I can find. Hangouts used to have audio calls. My friend and I would often use this to chat while we played video games or something.

It's amazing how often Google product merges end up deleting features. I'm still salty about YouTube Music missing half of Play Music's functionality. Ultimately had to unsubscribe, after 10 years of being a customer.

Just…don’t turn on the camera? It doesn’t force you to make it a video call. You can turn off the mics too for the ultimate in Zen meetings. Everybody muted and staring at static images.

For both my friend and I it forces us to turn on video, at the start. After the call starts we can then disable cameras. Which is a silly oversight if you ask me.

Duo has an audio-only call button, as someone noted. In fact, if you start as an audio call, you can't turn video on if you change your mind mid-call, which is annoying.

Good to know, thanks for the tip. I never even opened Duo, to be honest. Already had Hangouts so why bother? Only reason I tried Meet is because the last few months Hangouts would sometimes forcibly open Meet, in an attempt to get me to switch. I also could never remember if Duo or Allo was the texting app, I kind of just wrote both off the day they were announced. Ugh, why are there so many of these? End of rant.

 

[BalrogWing]

I guess they got tired of making messaging apps and are now doing video call apps?

 

[XSportSeeker]

Google's strategy of scattershot, nothing hits, and so they think combining things haphazardly will produce a hit, when in actuality it produces a single miss.
Messaging is past the point that what Google really should have done is going back to the drawing board with lessons learned and started things over... it's up for 3rd parties now. They should've done that like 10 years ago, while there was still some hope and goodwill among users.

Nothing it puts out now can replace Signal and WhatsApp for most of the world, even if they were willing to do all the sacrifices needed to match the features that 3rd parties had - which they aren't willing to do.
Nowadays, I don't even mind Google scurrying around trying to do something about it... as I'm not willing to adopt anything the company has to offer to anymore, anyways. I'm more comfortable with messaging being provided by a 3rd party company. So there you go... from a Signal user, keep trying Google, I'll just enjoy as an uninvolved spectator.

 

[silverboy]

Yeah, their naming practically screams New Coke.

The thing, it speaks for itself.

I look forward to the next iteration; Meet Classic™

 

[silverboy]

Understand, do you think?

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Ultimately we're going to need one of those big Linux distro charts to make understanding all these name changes easier. It's absurd at this point.

 

[MechR]

This is good - makes sense to rebrand the Duo app, which I have found to be really good for video calling but does clash a bit with Duo the 2FA. I never used Meet the Meetings app, but the brand was there on my GMail and everything else.

So this is actually a sensible Messaging strategy from Google rather than their usual 'what sticks' approach...

Yeah, there's a method to the madness in this case, even if it looks like a clusterfuck. Basically Duo has the more-mature app and bigger install base, but the wrong name. So (for once) instead of throwing it out, they change the name.

When I heard the merger was being managed by Meet's boss, my biggest fear was a wholesale axing of Duo calling functions, and my second-biggest fear was a half-assed feature migration and reteaching the UI to my parents. From that standpoint, simply renaming the Duo app is almost a best-case merger scenario.

 

[silverboy]

Chaos Master? Chief Insanity Officer?

At this point, I'm sure that Google's ridiculous handling of the chat and meeting apps can't be explained by incompetence alone, I see intent there. There must now be a manager that coordinates all meeting app endeavors: make sure many show promise, that a maximum amount of them are done in parallel and then, when one becomes used and pretty good, it will be randomly shut down.
The goal of the job would be to make sure that Google is not becoming successful in any meaningful way. To sabotage all efforts in an efficient way and make sure the names are confusing, reuse names like google meet (that got cancelled before), use confusion to maximum effect ;-)

 

[silverboy]

Or those Johnny Carson Classic videos (whatever they were called).

Heeeeeere's Google!

I thought this stopped being ridiculously funny a few iterations ago.

But, no, it doesn't.

This saga moved into farce territory at least a dozen product iterations ago. Now it’s like returning to an old sitcom for the comforting, familiar laughs.

 

[silverboy]

Google also has its own internal messaging apps and browser, a Chrome equivalent. Do you think they have four of each of those? Now I literally bet they do. And I do mean literally in the correct sense.

The office politics at the VP level at Google must be insane. 6 different chat apps, some of them once useful but being sunsetted. One team apparently develops a low bandwidth stable video chat tech, but it's stuck inside a specific app instead of being built for whatever their main video chat platform happens to be at the moment. Everything seems to be developed in silos and then the people at the top just push all of it to release and let people sort it out with flowcharts and guides.

 

[silverboy]

Coming soon: El Goog.

Rebranding is all Google knows how to do any more. Why would they make this so confusing? Just keep them named the same and pop a little alert on each on next launch saying they’re now interoperable, and that eventually only Meet will remain.

But no. Being Google they opted for the most confusing possible strategy for end users.

It’s getting embarrassing just to watch this.

 

[silverboy]

Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

This new, more cohesive lineup will leave one Google video app and three Google chat apps.

So, once again, one step forward and 15 steps backward?

And always twirling, twirling towards irrelevancy!

 

[xoe]

*App merger happens*
[blinks]
*A new messaging app is added*
[blinks again]
*a messaging app is depricated
These should all be branded as various incarnations of Google Huh? (TM).

FTFY

 

[xoe]

Can I start getting hyped now for the reintroduction of Google Wave in 2025?

I was quite excited with Wave, but when I tried it I couldn't find a use for it. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't make it work.

 

[henriquegemignani]

Didn't take long reading the article to find where Google would make a mess and have this be a nightmare for users.
Two different apps called the same thing, incredible.

I'm glad I exclusively use Google Meet in my laptop, via the links Google Calendar provides me otherwise I'm afraid I might accidentally use the wrong app.

 

[Deltigar]

Well, given how expensive Zoom is for subscribing, I'll probably switch to this to avoid the 40 minute time limit.

 

[ProphetZarquon]

I really wish Google would get their services to notify me all via one app.

In particular, using Google Voice instead of a cellular number, RCS messaging, & video chat, all seem like things which would compliment one, unified app.

Sort of a grand, central, communications app? With a name that covers all those use cases in a single word, like 'Talk'!

 

[ProphetZarquon]

Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

That does it, I'm getting my board with a nail in it.

 

[andriusdude]

*laughs in Skype*

 

[OrvGull]

Can I start getting hyped now for the reintroduction of Google Wave in 2025?

I was quite excited with Wave, but when I tried it I couldn't find a use for it. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't make it work.

Wave was a cool idea with few real world applications. It had all the hallmarks of someone's "15% time" project.