Google Duo On Android TV Will Take Over Your Living Room Soon

Video calls and conferencing are big these days and Google is making an even bigger fuss about it, figuratively and literally. It has been aggressively, perhaps sometimes too aggressively, pushing its Google Meet platform everywhere it can. Its latest move was to push it to large screens, at least via its Cast connectivity, but it, fortunately, isn't doing it just for Meet anymore. The company has revealed that its other video chat platform, Duo, is getting the same treatment, this time is limited to Android TV devices only.

There is apparently a rivalry between Google Duo, which has become popular for its ease of use and simplicity, and the new kid on the block, Google Meet. Under new, unified management, there are whispers that Google Duo would eventually be replaced by the more business-minded (not to mention profitable) Meet. As if to assuage consumers' fears, Google is rolling out features that would put the two on par with each other.

Except they're not really on par to some extent. Google revealed that it will be rolling out Google Duo on Android TV in the coming weeks, which probably didn't take too much work considering Duo is available as an Android app anyway. The goal is to turn the TV into a sort of family hub where you can see who you're talking to up close and large.

The problem is that, unlike the Cast-based Google Meet feature, Google Duo on Android TV is designed to run directly on the TV. This means your Android TV will need to have a webcam, which means you might have to attach a USB webcam to the TV if you don't. That is, of course, if the TV actually supports that kind of connection.

Google Duo will also be sharing screen space with Google Meet on the Google Nest Hub Max, a device that is properly designed for video conferencing, among other things. For now, Duo fans can at least take comfort that they're not being left out just yet. How long that will last depends on how true reports of its demise are.