After announcing Chromecast support for Google Meet, Google has now revealed that the company’s consumer video chat app, Duo, will be coming to Android TV in the form of a native app that lets users start video calls from their TV screen. A beta of Google Duo for Android TV will be released “in the coming weeks.” You can launch both one-on-one and group video calls with the app. “If your TV doesn’t have a camera built-in, you can simply plug in a USB camera,” Google said in its blog post — assuming your TV supports such a thing.
The move continues Google’s push to bring its video communication apps to bigger screens. By adding Chromecast support for Google Meet, the company gave people more flexibility in where they can have their work meetings. The combo of your couch and the TV screen will sometimes be a better fit than using a PC or phone.
Like Meet, Google Duo is already supported on the Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, and other smart displays that run Google’s software. The expansion of platforms and ways of using Meet can only help Google as it continues to scrap it out with Zoom and Microsoft Teams. And it’ll be a long effort; as the company says at the end of its blog post, “video calls aren’t going anywhere” anytime soon.
