Google Meet rolls out major features to take on Zoom video conferencing app

While video conferencing platform Zoom’s popularity skyrocketed amid COVID-19 lockdowns, Google Meet has started rolling out an updated version to compete with it. Though Zoom became extremely popular for videoconferencing during social distancing measures, it raised privacy and security concerns which provided enough space for Google to enter the competition.

In the major feature upgrade, Google Meet has expanded tiled layout which now let 16 participants appear on the screen simultaneously, which previously enabled only four people to feature on the layout. The company has also indicated that more updates will be rolled out for larger meetings, better presentation layouts, and support across more devices.

The other major update is the Low-light mode which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically adjust the video to make users more visible to other participants in sub-optimal lighting conditions. However, the feature has currently been made available for only mobile users and will be available to web users in the future.

Present a Chrome tab

The user will also have the option to present a Chrome tab instead of presenting the window or the entire screen which provides a better experience for remote viewers when a high-quality video with audio content is shared during the meeting. The ‘present a Chrome tab’ feature has started rolling out to general availability.

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Noise cancellation

The Noise Cancellation update helps limit interruptions during the meeting through which Meet intelligently filter out background distractions. It will begin rolling out in the coming weeks to G Suite Enterprise and G Suite Enterprise for Education customers starting with web users and later to mobile users.

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Google Meet new features could be a game-changer in the post-COVID-19 world when meetings and conferences are dependent on digital platforms. With Zoom still struggling to gain the trust of the online community after serious privacy and security flaws got exposed, Google Meet can get the users to turn towards it for a better solution.

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(Image credit: Google)