Google Duo is not coming back, but its icon has intentionally returned on Android [U]

In an amusing turn of events today that’s most likely a bug, an update to Google Meet (which was previously the Duo app) on Android brings back the Google Duo icon. As such, you now have two ways to launch the same application.

In consolidating its two video calling offerings into one, Google deemed “Meet” the surviving brand. However, in terms of implementation, the Google Duo app is the one remaining on people’s phones and being updated with a new homescreen and features from both services. This is because Duo has a much larger install base (5 billion vs 500 million).

At the start of August, an update (172) started rolling out that replaced the blue Duo icon and introduced the four-colored Meet version. After updating and opening the app, Duo disappears from the launcher.

Version 173 today brings back the Google Duo icon for some reason. As such, you have both the Duo and Meet logos in your app drawer, with both working to launch the new unified Meet-Duo experience.

Update: Google tells us this evening that it intentionally brought back the Duo icon with this update on Android. It’s meant to help people that search/type “Duo” to launch the application. The company is working to make the upgrade easier for end users.

It’s a baffling turn of events and most likely an error on Google’s part. For regular users of the service, the company has already explained the transition through a prominent splash screen and banner that you have to interact with to remove.

That said, it’s possible that the company is seeing enough confusion that this change isn’t an accident. (People are expressing their anger about this migration on the Meet listing.)

Google has yet to update Duo’s Play Store listing with the new branding. The company is also planning to update duo.google.com with Meet branding. Meanwhile, the Meet app has a green icon to indicate that it will eventually be phased out for enterprise users, though that original experience remains in Gmail as its own tab.

More on Google Meet:

• Duo merger with Meet widely rolled out on Android and iOS
• Meet live sharing brings shared YouTube watching, Spotify listening, and games
• Google Meet background effects get more accurate and add cloud processing
• Meet now shows how much background noise is being removed