Google Duo

{{Infobox software

| name = Google Duo

| logo = Google Duo icon.svg

| logo size = 100px

| screenshot = Google Duo.png

| caption = A screenshot of Duo

| screenshot size = 90px

| collapsible =

| author =

| developer = Google LLC

| released = {{Start date and age|2016|08|16}}

| ver layout = stacked

| discontinued = yes

| replaces = Google Hangouts

| replaced_by = Google Meet

| programming language =

| operating system = * Android 6.1.0 Marshmallow

Android 10.1.1

| platform =

| size =

| language =

| genre = Video chat mobile app

| license =

| website = {{URL|https://duo.google.com/}} (Redirects to Google Meet)

}}

Google Duo was a proprietary voice over IP (VoIP) and videotelephony service released in 2016 by Google and merged into its Google Meet product in 2022. It was available for Android, IOS and web browsers. It let users make and receive one-to-one and group audio and video calls with other Duo users in high definition, using end-to-end encryption by default. Duo could be used either with a phone number or a Google account, allowing users to call someone from their contact list.{{cite web |last1=Fulay |first1=Amit |last2=Adan |first2=Yariv |date=May 18, 2016 |title=Saying hello to Allo and Duo: new apps for smart messaging and video calling |url=https://blog.google/products/allo/allo-duo-apps-messaging-video/|website=Google: The Keyword Blog}}

Google Duo was announced at Google's developer conference on May 18, 2016, and began its worldwide release on August 16, 2016.{{Cite news |title=The 10 biggest announcements from Google I/O 2016 |last1=Brandom |first1=Russell |last2=Dzieza |first2=Josh |last3=O'Kane |first3=Sean |website=The Verge |date=18 May 2016 |url= https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/18/11701030/google-io-2016-keynote-highlights-announcements-recap}} Google announced in 2022 that the service would be merged into Google Meet, and it was shut down by the end of the year.

History

In December 2016, Google Duo replaced Hangouts within the suite of Google apps device manufacturers must install in order to gain access to the Google Play, with Hangouts instead becoming optional.{{cite web |first=David |last=Ruddock |title=Google is demoting Hangouts to "optional" in the Google Apps package for Android, to be replaced by Duo |url=http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/10/07/google-is-demoting-hangouts-to-optional-in-the-google-apps-package-for-android-to-be-replaced-by-duo/ |website=Android Police |date=October 7, 2016 |access-date=October 20, 2016}}

In August 2020, it was reported that Google was planning to eventually merge Google Duo with the business-oriented Google Meet.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Abner |date=August 14, 2020 |title=Sources: Google plans to eventually replace Duo with Meet |url=https://9to5google.com/2020/08/14/sources-google-meet-replaces-duo/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815071131/https://9to5google.com/2020/08/14/sources-google-meet-replaces-duo/ |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2016 |website=9to5Google}} In December 2021 this objective had been dropped, but Duo continued to be available and updated.{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Abner |date=December 16, 2021 |title=Scoop: Google Duo development & planned consumer-focused merger with Meet fizzles out |url=https://9to5google.com/2021/12/16/google-duo-development-fizzles/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216185932/https://9to5google.com/2021/12/16/google-duo-development-fizzles/ |archive-date=December 16, 2021 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |website=9to5Google}} In June 2022, Google reversed course and announced that Duo and Meet would, in fact, be merged.{{Cite web |last=Pierce |first=David |date=June 1, 2022 |title=Google is combining Meet and Duo into a single app for voice and video calls |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23149832/google-meet-duo-combination-voice-video |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601163634/https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23149832/google-meet-duo-combination-voice-video |archive-date=June 1, 2022 |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=The Verge}} The merger began in August, with the Duo mobile app renamed Meet and the original Meet app renamed "Google Meet (original)" and scheduled to be phased out.{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=August 3, 2022 |title=Google Meet meets Duo Meet, with Meet in Duo but Duo isn't going into Meet |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/3/23290225/google-meet-duo-video-calling-messaging |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803153615/https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/3/23290225/google-meet-duo-video-calling-messaging |archive-date=August 3, 2022 |access-date=August 3, 2022 |website=The Verge}} The Duo and Meet web apps completed their merger in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Abner |date=January 4, 2024 |title=Google Meet web app unified with 'Calls' tab |url=https://9to5google.com/2024/01/04/google-meet-calls/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104202038/https://9to5google.com/2024/01/04/google-meet-calls/ |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |access-date=August 10, 2024 |website=9to5Google}}

Technologies

Google Duo was optimized for low-bandwidth mobile networks through WebRTC and uses QUIC over UDP. Optimization was further achieved through the degradation of video quality through monitoring network quality.{{cite web |last=Bohn |first=Dieter |date=May 18, 2016 |title=Google Duo makes mobile video calls fast and simple |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/18/11690728/google-duo-video-call-app-vs-apple-facetime-io-2016 |access-date=October 21, 2016 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media}} For packet loss concealment, Duo used Google DeepMind.{{Cite web |last=Barrera |first=Pablo |date=April 1, 2020 |title=Improving Audio Quality in Duo with WaveNetEQ |url=https://ai.googleblog.com/2020/04/improving-audio-quality-in-duo-with.html |access-date=2020-04-01 |website=Google AI Blog |language=en}}

In February 2021, Google announced a new very low-bitrate codec for speech compression called "Lyra" that could operate with network speeds as low as 3 kbps that avoided robotic voice audio and that was to be rolled out to Duo.{{Cite web |last=Luebs |first=Alejandro |date=February 25, 2021 |title=Lyra: A New Very Low-Bitrate Codec for Speech Compression |url=https://ai.googleblog.com/2021/02/lyra-new-very-low-bitrate-codec-for.html |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Google AI Blog |language=en}}

According to a technical study commissioned by Google from the Signals Research Group in 2017 that compared degradation time over 3G, 4G, 5G and Wi-Fi, Duo provided the highest voice and video quality of any service or app.{{Cite web |title=Google Duo - Free High-Quality Video Calling App |url=https://duo.google.com/about/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Google Duo |language=en}}{{Cite report|title=Dueling with the Duo: A Third-Party Performance Analysis of Seven Popular Video Chat Applications Operating in 3G, LTE, and Wi-Fi Networks Under a Wide Range of Radio Conditions|url=https://signalsresearch.com/issue/dueling-with-the-duo/|url-access=registration|website=Signals Research Group |date=27 August 2017}}

Features

"Knock Knock" showed a live preview of the caller before the recipient picked up, which Google said was to "make calls feel more like an invitation rather than an interruption".{{cite web|url=https://blog.google/products/duo/meet-google-duo-simple-1-to-1-video/|title=Meet Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app for everyone|last=Uberti|first=Justin|date=August 16, 2016|website=The Keyword Google Blog|access-date=January 9, 2017}}

In March 2017, it was announced that Google Duo would let users make audio-only calls. The feature was first launched in Brazil,{{cite web |first=Mario |last=Queiroz |title=Google for Brazil: Building a more inclusive internet for everyone, everywhere |url=https://blog.google/topics/internet-access/google-brazil-building-more-inclusive-internet-everyone-everywhere/ |website=The Keyword Google Blog |date=March 22, 2017 |access-date=March 22, 2017}}{{cite web |first=Nikki |last=Erlick |title=Google announces app updates to Allo, Duo, and Photos |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/22/15024736/google-allo-duo-photos-updates-announced |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |date=March 22, 2017 |access-date=March 22, 2017}}{{cite web |first=Jordan |last=Palmer |title=Google Duo is finally getting an audio-only call option, rolling out first in Brazil [APK Download] and have |url=http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/22/google-duo-finally-getting-audio-call-option-rolling-first-brazil/ |website=Android Police |date=March 22, 2017 |access-date=March 23, 2017}} with a global rollout in April.{{cite web |first=James |last=Vincent |title=Google Duo's voice calls are now available worldwide |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/10/15242416/voice-calling-google-duo-worldwide |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |date=April 10, 2017 |access-date=April 10, 2017}}

A year later in March 2018, video and voice messages were added to Duo. Users could leave messages up to 30 seconds long for contacts who were unavailable.{{cite web|last1=Lindsay|first1=Dave|title=Miss a call—but not the moment—with video messages on Google Duo|url=https://blog.google/products/duo/miss-call-not-moment-video-messages-google-duo/|website=The Keyword Google Blog|access-date=March 15, 2018|date=March 7, 2018}}

Support for eight-person video calls in both the iOS and Android versions of the app was added in May 2019.{{cite tweet |user=juberti |number=1131685391545786369 |date=May 23, 2019 |title=#GoogleDuo group calling is now fully deployed, with the simplicity, quality, and security you expect from Duo.}} In line with similar group calling offerings from FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, and Messenger, participants could join or leave the conversation at any time. Google Duo increased the maximum group size to 12 at the end of March 2020,{{cite news |date=11 May 2020 |title=Google Duo brings group calling with up to 32 people to web and adds family mode |publisher=Zee Entertainment |url=https://www.bgr.in/news/google-duo-brings-group-calling-with-up-to-32-people-to-web-and-adds-family-mode-890817/ |access-date=12 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520022132/https://www.bgr.in/news/google-duo-brings-group-calling-with-up-to-32-people-to-web-and-adds-family-mode-890817/ |archive-date=May 20, 2020 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|title=Google steps up Zoom competition by adding 32-person calls to Duo|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/google-steps-up-zoom-competition-by-adding-32-person-calls-to-duo/|date=May 12, 2020|first=Brandon |last=Vigliarolo |website=TechRepublic|language=en|access-date=2020-05-15}} and to 32 by May 2022.