Google Meet

In light of COVID-19 driving all communication online, free Google Meet users with personal Gmail accounts could take advantage of group calls without a duration limit over the past year. That benefit ended at the start of this month and Google has detailed the new limitation.

For the past year or so, Google has primarily focused on catering towards the enterprise video calling market to beat Zoom. Google Meet is now making a push for personal users with a set of fun effects, like filters and masks.

In the transition to Meet, Google got rid of “Hangouts on Air,” or the ability to livestream video calls directly to YouTube for anybody to view. That feature is coming back, starting for education customers this year, but until then, Google is extending who can see internal Meet livestreams.

Following the web rollout, the Google Meet redesign is now coming to dedicated video calling hardware, like Chromebases. This is meant to ensure a consistent experience and workflow across all platforms.

Google’s fast iteration on Meet continues with a series of upcoming new features for education customers. One particular highlight for Google Meet “in the coming months” is the return of YouTube livestreams.

The Hand Raise feature in Google Meet is getting a slew of updates over the coming weeks. Everything from the end user to host experience is seeing an upgrade. 

Google has been rapidly iterating on Meet in the past year, and that’s continuing today alongside updates to Gmail and Workspace. Google Meet is getting a “Companion Mode” to provide a second-screen experience as part of a push to make hybrid meetings more equitable.

In addition to rolling out a redesigned web UI, Meet is introducing what Google calls “gentle quality notifications” aimed at giving users recommendations on how they can improve performance and call quality.

In April, Google announced that Meet on the web was getting a redesign with streamlined bottom bar controls and other changes. It’s now rolling out for the first users and will be available for all in June.

At I/O 2021, Google announced several “Smart canvas” features that will better integrate the company’s various productivity apps. The ability to present from Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly to Google Meet is now rolling out.

In unveiling “Smart canvas” at I/O 2021, Google called it the “next big step” in the future of work. The goal is to create a more integrated and interactive Workspace experience, especially in Google Docs.

In pushing Meet adoption over the past year, Google made it possible to schedule a video call from nearly all of its main Workspace apps. The company today fully detailed when meeting codes for Google Meet expire.

In addition to a big web update set for next month, Google Meet is picking up a new “limit data usage” setting on Android and iOS. It allows users to further optimize video call quality for their current device and network conditions.

With hybrid work expected to become the norm, Google Workspace today announced a slew of upcoming features for its video conferencing service. Google Meet will see a new, “richer” laptop and desktop UI next month, while a number of AI features are coming soon. 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google has been rapidly iterating on Meet, given the demand for enterprise video conferencing. The company also made Google Meet free for personal Gmail accounts, and is now extending the availability of longer calls to June 2021. 

Last year, Google’s video calling app gained an improved desktop layout to help you see everyone in large meetings. The Google Meet tile view is now coming to the mobile apps, starting with iOS.