[ucaetano]

Target market: enterprise

* Video-conferencing & meeting: Hangouts Meet

* Direct messaging & team communication: Hangouts Chat

Target market: consumer

* Video & audio calling: Duo

* Text messaging: Allo

You could even put it in a 2x2, doesn't get any more clear than this.

[pound]

OK, so here is consumer case: weekly video call to parents, who live separately. Duo? 1-on-1. Hangouts Meet? enterprise. Original Hangouts? Who knows how long it will be here, but hey, Google Voice suddenly got updated after 5 years of neglect. Doesn't get any more clear than this.

[ucaetano]

I'm not saying that they cover every use-case, just that now they have a very clear targeting.

If they don't support your use-case, use someone else's product.

[pound]

but is this use case seems that exotic to you?

it's not a 'consumer' target then, but a '1-on-1' use case => segmenting by use cases

[ucaetano]

I think it is an uncommon use case, but I wouldn't say exotic. On the other hand, which of the latest services support it? WhatsApp doesn't, FaceTime doesn't (although they're rumored to soon). So I'd guess it isn't common enough to be launched in the initial versions.

On your second point, yes, you're segmenting by use case, I was segmenting by target customer.

[pound]

no, how does supporting only one video call use case by app mean target is consumer and not that use case?

[ucaetano]

It isn't "supporting only one video" that mean the target is consumer. Allo & Duo have no enterprise features, and are publicly marketed to consumers. Hangouts is marketed & sold as part of GSuite, the enterprise productivity suite from Google.

Targeting determines features, not the other way around.

[laughfactory]

It's clear, all right, but I don't want FOUR apps to do what one should.

And none of the supporting arguments for this change have been persuasive to me. This is just x4 fragmentation, if you ask me.