Google steps up its video-conferencing game as it adds Zoom-like features on Meet and allows users to answer calls from Gmail.
A change is coming to Google Meet, and it may be for the better. Just recently, Javier Solter, Google’s general manager and vice president of G Suite, had revealed in an interview that their company is planning to add a gallery view that is similar to Zoom in its business and education-based Google Meet video-conferencing platform.
Furthermore, a new feature in Meet will let users answer calls from Gmail. As per Soltero, these changes will be done in order to make the service easier to use as the demand for video-conferencing services surge amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Zoom-like gallery view
The new gallery view for Google Meet will allow users to see up to 16 participants in a meeting in a single frame, and this will be added sometime this month. This greatly resembles its rival service, Zoom, which displays around 49 participants in a single frame, the number of which is also subjected to the capabilities of a user’s CPU.
Interestingly, both gallery views are similar to the opening sequence of the iconic American television show, “The Brady Bunch.”
We're rolling out new #GoogleMeet features that give educators more control over their meetings, including limiting who can mute or remove other participants, who can allow external users to join, and more: https://t.co/UhdWF9rPZo. #DistanceLearning pic.twitter.com/Mw8XmBzoP7
— Google for Education (@GoogleForEdu) April 17, 2020
Gmail Integration
Google announced that it would also allow users to accept calls via Gmail. The integration would come in the form of its own section on the left-side toolbar. Soltero says that this will just be the first of many integrations to enhance Google Meet’s services.
“With more and more people working and learning home, we want to make it easier for you to connect and keep things moving forward. With Meet in Gmail, you can easily start to join a meeting in seconds. Our goal is to help you follow the flow of the day, seamlessly switching between email and video meetings – whichever form of communication you need,” Google says in a blog post.As per the company, the feature has already been rolled on for the G Suite and will arrive on mobile devices at a later date.
Further improvements
What’s more, is that Google will also be adding adjustment features in order to enhance video quality under dim lighting conditions and also filter out unnecessary background noise.
Over the last few weeks, Google Meet had experienced a surge in users as governments are forced to follow lockdown orders leaving people stuck at home. Google has not given an update as to what their current usage status is, but their last report says that they had experienced a growth of 60%.
Furthermore, earlier reports indicate that Google Meet is adding two million new users every day. With a growing number of users, improving Meet’s services is the smart thing to do unless they want to experience the massive backlash faced by Zoom after multiple security and privacy issues were uncovered.
Images courtesy of Webaroo, Elle Cartier/Unsplash, Google, and Zoom