Back in April, Google delayed when G Suite legacy free-edition users had to start paying for Workspace. The company will now let you stay on a “Free Legacy Edition of G Suite for personal use” as the “no-cost” alternative in a rather notable policy change.
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Google announced in January that “G Suite legacy free edition” accounts would have to start paying for Workspace this year, but that’s now being slightly delayed. Meanwhile, those opting for the no-cost option will soon have to join a waiting list to avoid payments.
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The migration from “G Suite legacy free edition” continues today with Google quietly noting that it will offer the ability to transfer “your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a no-cost option.”
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Last week, Google announced that all G Suite legacy free edition users will have to transition and start paying for Workspace starting in July. This has upset non-business users that signed up for G Suite 16 years ago with their domain, and Google is now reaching out to these legacy personal users.
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In 2020, G Suite became Google Workspace as part of a mass reorganization of the company’s apps for the “future of work.” Various plans were migrated over, and Google is now finally getting rid of the G Suite legacy free edition.
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The future of Google’s enterprise communication services is tight integration with Gmail. That said, there will always be a need for the standalone Meet app, which Google is now redesigning to look like the recently added Gmail tab.
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Besides Gmail integration, the last big update to Chat in July introduced a dark theme. Google Chat will soon be picking up read receipts in one-to-one conversations.
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Google Drive storage is very useful and, in the days of G Suite, business owners had the ability to get unlimited Google Drive storage. Unfortunately, though, unlimited Google Drive storage going away with Workspace.
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The past few months have brought a flurry of changes to Google’s productivity apps. Some of the revamps were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, while others have long been in the works. The culmination of those changes is “Google Workspace.”
It’s both the new name of G Suite and a complete modernization of the company’s productivity offerings that reflects how work is increasingly getting done.
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After rolling out to desktops in June, Google Meet can now filter out disruptive sounds, thanks to noise cancellation on Android and iOS. The video conferencing service is also adding attendance reports for schools and educators.
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Last week, Google’s video conferencing tool launched a 49-person grid and background blur. Google Meet is now integrating with Jamboard to add a digital whiteboard for visual and collaborative brainstorming.
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Shared — previously team — drives are how organizations using Google Drive distribute and collaborate on files. Google is now testing the ability to share folders within a shared drive.
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As previewed last month, Google is starting to launch a handful of pre-announced features for Meet. Background blur and being able to see up to 49 people simultaneously is coming to Google Meet in the coming weeks.
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Online file storage solutions started out as being modeled after their local, non-cloud counterparts. Next month, Google Drive will automatically delete files and folders placed in the trash after 30 days.
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Back in March, a Material Theme redesign of Google Groups was announced. After a beta, it entered general availability in May. The new Google Groups is becoming the default experience for all users next week.
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As announced last month, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for Android now support Microsoft Office editing. A related change sees Docs adjust line spacing based on the current font.
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Google Voice is the latest first-party app to adopt a dark theme today. Following Gmail last month, the VOIP client is getting a standard night-friendly look on Android.
Update 10/1/19: We’ve been tracking development of a dark theme in Google Voice since early August. Like other apps, it adopts a gray background. The bottom bar and “Search Google Voice” field uses a somewhat lighter shade that’s also leveraged by the dialer interface.
The dark-green FAB in the bottom-right corner has also been tweaked to be distinctly brighter and more neon with a dark interior. Other colors throughout the interface have also been shifted. Google Voice’s homescreen widget already abides by the dark mode.
Unlike Messages last night, there will be an option within Google Voice preferences to set the look manually. The app is otherwise set to follow Android 10’s dark theme by default:
To change the theme specifically for the Google Voice app, go to Menu > Settings > Display Options > Theme and select “Dark.”
This dark theme will be available for all G Suite editions, and it begins gradually rolling out today with version 2019.40. It will be fully launched over the next 15 days to users. Following Messages and this update, Hangouts Chat is Google’s only remaining messaging service to not feature a night-friendly appearance.
Update 8/30: Nearly 11 months after launching on Android, Google Voice for iOS is picking up a dark theme. It is widely rolling out now with version 20.36, and it respects system settings. The release notes also highlight the ability to “see and access an on-going call while navigating the Voice app.”
Back in March, Google Drive introduced “shortcuts” to simplify folder structure, sharing, and reduce the need for creating copies. Google today announced a trio of updates, while Drive is adding support for target audience sharing.
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Usually quite reliable, Google is reporting that Gmail and other G Suite applications are seeing a “service disruption.” Gmail, followed by Google Drive, being down is the biggest problem right now. Issues started late on Wednesday evening (PT) and continue into the early hours of Thursday.
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Last month, Google announced that its new “home for work” consolidates communication and document editing into one app. The new Gmail is now rolling out to G Suite customers on Android and the web.
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Ahead of the upcoming (or already under way) school year, Google Meet is gaining a number of features for students and educators. At its back-to-school event, Google today provided a Meet education road map for upcoming moderation tools and other functionality intended to boost interactivity amid distance learning.
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After Google’s acquisition of JotSpot, the launch of Google Sites in 2008 brought easy wiki-style website creation to many users. Eight years later, a new Google Sites was introduced to the masses to replace the withering shell of classic Sites and become a part of G Suite — allowing for easy integration with Docs, Sheets, and Slides. In an email sent out today to users, Google notified that the service would be sent off in 2021.
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Google tries to differentiate its G Suite apps by leveraging AI to boost user productivity. It’s now bringing several key features, including Smart Compose, that first debuted on the desktop web to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for Android and iOS.
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Earlier this month, Google announced that Gmail would soon incorporate chat, group, and video messaging. The standalone apps are still seeing updates, with Google Chat for Android and iOS today picking up a dark theme.
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