The year 2022 has begun and will certainly bring us numerous new features as well as some new products from Google. But those who give can also take: It is already known that some Google products will be discontinued, replaced by successors, or simply no longer supported in the coming months. In this article, we round up all the products that will hit the Google cemetery in 2022.
Google is a very experimental company that creates numerous products, tries out features and, on the other hand, also pulls the plug on many unsuccessful attempts. We have already shown you which big products were discontinued in 2021 and now we are looking to the future and show you which products will almost certainly make it to the Google cemetery in the next 12 months.
In most cases the hiring is already announced, in other cases, it follows predetermined patterns and in one case it is speculative. Of course, only the big products are listed here and not the many many small fringe projects that most users have not even heard of. Dozens of APIs and interfaces that do not belong to this list are also discontinued year after year in the developer area.
In 12 months we will read each other again and see which products have been added and whether perhaps one or the other of the safe shutdown has jumped off the shovel – that would not be so unusual on Google and it happened more often than you think would.
Google Hangouts It
feels like Google Hangouts has been on the list of soon-to-be discontinued products for several years, but facts were created in the past year: The switch to Google Chat was practically forced for business users and the final end of Google Hangouts for the end of 2021 announced. But now we’ve put the new calendar on the wall and Google Hangouts is still quick-alive. Anything but a shutdown in 2022 would still be a surprise.
Google Bookmarks
The end of Google Bookmarks was announced at very short notice and took place in the fall of last year. Users should start the export before the saved links are no longer available. Google Bookmarks is now in read-only mode, but all lists and exports are still available. The shutdown in 2022 is very likely.
Android Auto
The Android Auto app for smartphones was to be replaced by the Google Assistant Driving Mode in autumn 2019, which, as is well known, nothing came of it. Last year the momentum finally came in and the Assistant Driving Mode is now quite widely available.
But Android Auto is still available on millions of smartphones. The app can only no longer be used under Android 12, but this requirement should soon be corrected downwards. It is very likely that the classic Android Auto can no longer be used.
Android KitKat
Last year, for the first time, Google pulled the plug on old Android versions that can no longer be supported due to their age. In the summer of last year that was all versions up to and including Android Jelly Bean. This year, shortly before the release of Android 13, it will probably be handled in a similar way and then pull the plug on Android KitKat.
OnHub Router
The OnHub Router provided the basis for Google’s Wifi products under its own brand and the Nest brand but was not itself particularly successful. Nevertheless, the product will continue to be supported and it will not be unplugged until December 22, 2022, so that it is practically no longer usable. Anyone who owns such a router can still get a 40 percent discount on Nest Wifi devices for a few weeks.
Google Duo
Last and only speculative point. The future of Google Duo has been uncertain since the opening of Google Meet to private users – and that was in spring 2020. Although it was initially emphasized that Duo would continue to be offered, the video messenger, which is quite popular in some circles, has not developed significantly since then.
At the beginning of 2021, it was announced that the development of Duo and Meet would be brought under one roof. At the end of 2021, we learned that Duo had been removed from the meet team.
It may be that Duo is about to make another big restart, but the product maintenance that has barely existed for a good two years will have left its mark. I assume, even if many do not like to hear this, that at least the end of Duo or a joint successor will be announced in 2022. I am happy to be wrong on this point because even if I don’t use Duo myself, I know that loyal users are very happy with the product.