It seems like that is going to change soon. Because, in the latest report by XDA Developers (via Android Central), Google Duo may soon get some of the best video chat features of Meet. In an APK teardown report, the latest version of the Google Duo, i.e. version 159.0.425779378, folks at XDA found some new strings of codes related to the Breakout rooms feature. For the unaware, Breakout Rooms let you divide people into smaller rooms. This makes it easier to manage a large meeting or a large group call. For instance, a teacher could use Breakout Rooms to divide students into smaller groups for collaborating on a project, group discussion, etc. This feature isn’t exclusive to Meet. Other video calling apps, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, also offer Breakout Rooms functionality. Now, it seems like Google Duo will also get it in the future.
Google Duo may also add the ability to live stream and record a video meeting
As per the spotted strings of codes that show when the Breakout is in use, the participants will be shown a “Breakout rooms are in session” onscreen message. Whereas, once the Breakout Room session ends, they will be shown a “Breakout Room has ended” message. That’s not all. XDA also discovered a few strings of code that point out that Google is also working on the ability to live stream and record a video meeting for Google Duo. The strings show references to live streaming and recording a video meeting feature, just like you already have on Google Meet. A persistent notification will be shown to the user that reads, “This meeting is being streamed and recorded.” Moreover, the participants of the meeting will also get to know the name of the person who started the streaming. Do note that the Breakout Rooms and the ability to live stream and record a video meeting aren’t available for Google Duo users. Some strings of code have been found in the latest version of Google Duo, which hints that the company is working on these features. It totally depends on Google whether or not these new features will see the light of the day. All the features mentioned here are under development and may or may not arrive in a future release.