Google Is Merging Its Video Conferencing Apps

Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOGL subsidiary Google says it is merging its Meet and Duo video conferencing applications.

What Happened: The announcement was made in a blog post by Javier Soltero, vice president and general manager for Google Workspace on Wednesday.

Soltero said Google would be adding all Meet features to Duo in the coming weeks, and later in the year, Duo will be renamed Google Meet.

Duo features that would be retained include the ability to make video calls to friends and family by phone number or email address and the use of “fun filters and effects.”

“All conversation history, contacts, and messages will continue to be saved in the app and there will be no new app to download,” wrote Soltero.

Why It Matters: Soltero said the merger will come at "no cost" and is a part of Google’s mission to build a “connected experience” for all users.

Google Meet ranked no. 5 by popularity according to a poll shared by Statista. While 29.2% of respondents chose Meet, Microsoft Corporation's MSFT Teams was chosen by 55.4%.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Alphabet Class A shares closed 0.1% higher at $2,277.84 in the regular session, while the company’s Class C shares rose 0.09% to $2,282.74, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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