Andy Walker / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is reportedly instructing users to uninstall the old Meet app in favor of the new Meet.
- The company renamed Duo to Meet last year, so it’s now seemingly killing off the old Meet app.
Google is no stranger to killing products and services, and we’ve seen plenty of casualties in the communication segment. This latest case is probably the most confusing one yet, though.
According to Reuters journalist Munsif Vengattil on Twitter, Google is asking users to uninstall the Meet app before they can join a meeting on Meet. Confused? We really don’t blame you at all.
The original Meet app was previously dubbed Google Hangouts Meet. Back in August 2022, however, Google decided to merge Meet and Duo, renaming Duo to Meet. The original and new Meet apps thus co-existed until now. But Google is now calling on users to install the new Meet (formerly known as Duo) while urging them to uninstall the original Meet app (formerly Hangouts Meet). Got it yet?
The saga seems like the latest in a long line of confusing messaging strategies from Google over the years. But we can see the logic in this decision as Duo is pre-installed on many Android phones, opening the door for the new Meet to gain increased adoption. Hopefully, Google doesn’t introduce a “new new Meet” in a year or two.
