A new commit in the Chrome Gerrit is suggesting that Chrome Duplex, the new split menu view coming to Chrome for Android, is to be renamed Chrome Duet so as to avoid confusion with Google Duplex. Google Duplex, as you likely know, is the human sounding assistant that can call and make appointments for you through Google Assistant. Chrome Duplex is completely unrelated and has to do with a UI update for Chrome for Android, particularly for larger devices.
What Google is wanting to avoid is end users confusing the two duplex’s or assuming that they do the same thing – one on your phone and one in Chrome on your phone. They are two completely different technologies and thus a name change makes a lot of sense.
If you are confused on what exactly Chrome Duplex is exactly, take a look at the screenshots below. The first one is Chrome 67, the current stable build for Chrome for Android.
Chrome for Android – Chrome 67
The second one below is Chrome 69, the current Chrome for Android Canary build with the flag for Duplex set to enabled.
Chrome for Android – Chrome 69 with Chrome Duet Enabled
Note the bottom toolbar and the Material Design look & feel to the browser. This is what Chrome Duplex – soon to be Chrome Duet – is and has nothing to do with Google Duplex.
Right now you can only enable Duet in the Chrome for Android Canary build which is pretty unstable and not recommended for daily use. But you can download it in the Play Store and then go to chrome://flags and search for “duplex” to enable it.
