New Google Meet cameras run Android instead of ChromeOS, Zoom Rooms interop coming

Abner Li | Oct 26 2022 - 11:56 am PT

Following Cloud Next 2022 earlier this month, Google Meet is getting two more announcements focused on enterprise video calling hardware, including how these dedicated cameras will run Android.

Meet hardware for conference rooms has traditionally run ChromeOS, but Google notes how “open source Android-based devices have become increasingly popular.” Logitech and Poly today announced “Meet for Android-based appliances.”

Logitech’s Rally Bar (medium-to-large rooms) and Rally Bar Mini (small-to-medium) for Google Meet feature “crystal clear audio and cinematic video.” They can be paired with a Meet Compute box or in appliance mode and are touted as “drastically reducing setup time and cabling complexity.” Kinect-esque in appearance, they will be available in 2023.

The Poly Studio X family also runs Google Meet on Android with three camera sizes available: Studio X30 for small, Studio X50 for medium, and Studio X70 for large rooms. Highlights include smart camera framing, Poly’s “NoiseBlockAI” to filter out non-verbal noises, and an “Acoustic Fence” to tune out “extraneous sounds.” The first device is launching in early 2023.

Meanwhile, those with existing Android hardware from Logitech and Poly can just add a Meet license to get the same feature set.

The other big announcement today is how Google Meet hardware can soon join Zoom meetings. The opposite will also be supported thanks to bidirectional interoperability “coming later this year, with no additional licensing cost.”

This means Zoom Rooms will be able to join Google Meet meetings, and Google Meet devices will be able to join Zoom Meetings — either directly from a Zoom Room or a Google Meet device calendar with a single touch of a button, or by entering in a meeting code.

Support is first coming for ChromeOS-based Meet devices before expanding, while “Google Meet interop will be supported on all Zoom Rooms across all platforms.”