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- Two of our tipsters tell us that group video calling is live in Duo for them in India. It looks like it began rolling out a few days ago. Thanks, Samarth, Gurkanwal!
For over a year, we've known that Google Duo was working on implementing group video calls. Beside a sneak peek at the feature last December, there's been no real sign of it in the app. After the Facetime bug in January, Justin Uberti, Duo's lead, mentioned that the "importance of getting [group calls right] cannot be overstated," leading us to believe it would be a while for them to arrive in Duo. But the time has come now, as group calls are making their way to users.
Google Indonesia was the first to announce the feature, as part of its preparation for Ramadan, and Justin Uberti confirmed later that it was available in "select regions." We don't know what those are, but if you have the option, you should be able to make various groups or simply select up to four contacts to call simultaneously.
We'll keep an eye open and let you know when we have an official list of locales where group calls are available, and update you if the feature rolls out to more countries.
UPDATE: 2019/05/08 2:51am PDT BY RITA EL KHOURY
Two of our tipsters tell us that group video calling is live in Duo for them in India. It looks like it began rolling out a few days ago. Thanks, Samarth, Gurkanwal!
UPDATE: 2019/05/08 8:33am PDT BY STEPHEN SCHENCK
We're still looking for a complete list of nations in which group-call support is available, but until we get that full breakdown, we've received a tip that the feature is now working in Canada. Thanks, Mendy!
UPDATE: 2019/05/08 10:55am PDT BY STEPHEN SCHENCK
This being Google and all, how's it going to launch a new feature without bringing US users in on the action? Well, it's not, and we've received confirmation that Duo group calls are rolling out in the States. Thanks, Dee!
UPDATE: 2019/05/09 2:33am PDT BY RITA EL KHOURY
Justin Uberti officially confirmed the rollout of Duo group calling to three countries: India, which we covered earlier, Brazil, and Mexico. He didn't mention the US or Canada, but the evidence points to it being at least tested in those two locales as well.
UPDATE: 2019/05/09 10:14am PDT BY RITA EL KHOURY
We're starting to feel that Google doesn't really know where a feature is available and where it isn't. We've been getting reports of Duo group calls in Australia, UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, France, and I have them in Lebanon as well. It's safe to say that the feature isn't confined to the few countries Justin mentioned above, and is now clearly rolling out worldwide to more and more users.
Source: @Google_IDN, @Juberti