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Google Duo reaches 5 billion installs on the Play Store, presumably calls a friend about it
Just in time for Meet to eat its lunch
Video calls have taken on a new life over the past two years. Even as real-world meetups have become more common, being able to chat "face-to-face" with friends, family, and co-workers anywhere in the world at any moment is pretty useful. Google Duo is one of the best ways to place a video call on any device, and its popularity continues to pay off.
Hangouts has been on the way out for four (!) years by now, but the service is still kicking. And in that process, Hangouts managed to reach an impressive milestone: It has been installed five billion times on the Play Store. That brings it right on par with a few pre-installed Google apps, but also with the two competing messaging products from Facebook.
Facebook Messenger becomes the third non-Google app to reach 5 billion installs on the Play Store
Following Facebook and WhatsApp
With the popularity of Android, plenty of applications have managed to cross over the one billion installs threshold on the Play Store. It's a lot more selective in the five billion-plus club, which only two non-Google apps have ever succeeded in joining. You can finally bump that count up to three, as Facebook Messenger achieved a new milestone for installs just this week.
Only a handful of Android applications have reached five billion downloads, with most of them being Google's pre-installed apps. Facebook reached the landmark last year, likely thanks to its partnerships with Samsung and other OEMs, and now Facebook-owned WhatsApp has joined the elite club.
Only a handful of apps have passed 5 billion total installations on Android, mostly as a result of pre-installations by phone makers. The latest application to pass that milestone is none other than Google Drive, joining Chrome, Gmail, and Facebook in the 5 billion club.
We all know Google Play Music's days are numbered and it's only been playing second fiddle to YouTube Music for over a year. You can't unring that bell, but at least Play Music is getting the opportunity to enjoy its swan song: the app has now crossed 5 billion downloads on the Play Store.
Five billion is a big number, especially when it comes to app installs. To date, only pre-installed Google apps (Play Services, YouTube, Maps, etc.) have passed that milestone, but now Facebook has just joined the elite club.
This five billion figure is tempered by the fact that Chrome comes pre-installed on Android devices running Google Play services, but it's a feat worth noting nonetheless. Chrome has been picking up some interesting new features recently, like a password generator, better file sharing, and since its 2019, a dark theme.
Hitting a billion installs on the Play Store is so passé — over thirty apps have now reached that milestone. Hitting 5 billion installs, on the other hand, puts you in an elite group with YouTube, Maps, and Search — and Gmail just made the cut.
Over the weekend, the Google Maps app reached 5 billion downloads on the Play Store and we celebrated that momentous occasion with virtual champagne and confetti — well, just a short post really. However, our eyebrows were a little raised when we noticed that the Google app still hadn't made it to that coveted number, but now they're dropping as it has just caught up.
Being physically lost is apparently a much bigger incentive for app usage than being at a loss from an information perspective. The Google Maps app has just hit over 5 billion downloads on the Play Store, beating Google's own search app to the punch. The latter still hasn't reached that coveted number, but we all know it's a matter of time.
YouTube has been streaming video since before some of our younger readers were born. Since its launch in 2005, it's become mind-bogglingly popular. It also comes pre-loaded on every Android phone with access to Google Play, which has led to a significant milestone in the app's history: YouTube has now seen more than five billion installations on Android.
Five billion is a big number. If you combine the populations of the top 10 most-populated countries on Earth, you get less than that number. The best-selling game console of all time, the PlayStation 2, only sold enough units to cover 3.2% of five billion. Google Play Services has now passed five billion downloads on the Play Store, becoming the first app to do so.