Google plans to release a beta version of its Duo video conferencing app for Android TV in the coming weeks, allowing users to take one-one-one and group video calls from their camera-equipped connected TVs.
The integration of its consumer video conferencing app, Dou, into Android TV follows Google’s addition of Chromecast support to its professional-grade conferencing app, Meet, allowing users to “cast” their meetings from laptops and phones to Chromecast equipped monitors.
“2020 may go down as the year of the video call,” TJ Varghese, group product manager for Google Meet hardware, said in a company company blog post. “It’s become an indispensable tool, one we all use more than we likely would have imagined. But meeting fatigue is probably hitting you hard in the afternoon. Using the right devices can make a big difference in making video calls more enjoyable and engaging. Here are a few new ways to use Google Meet and Duo across a series of new devices to create a better meeting experience.”
Google Duo is already supported on the Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max and other smart displays that run Google’s software. Expanding the app to Google’s growing connected TV platform is just one more way Google plans to compete in the ongoing videoconferencing race with Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
