Tag Archives: Google Meet Hardware

Experience better collaboration in conference rooms with new support for whiteboard cameras on Google Meet Hardware

What’s changing

Using a whiteboard during a brainstorming session is a great way to problem solve as a group. However in today’s hybrid work environment, it can be difficult for those attending a meeting in-person to collaborate with their remote colleagues on a whiteboard. 

To improve upon this experience, provide better meeting inclusion, and foster greater collaboration, we’re excited to announce support for whiteboard cameras on Google Meet Hardware, with Logitech Scribe as the first supported camera. This will enable the content written on a physical whiteboard in a room to be shared as a presentation in a meeting using the Logitech Scribe. As a result, remote meeting participants will be able to see what is being drawn on a meeting room whiteboard. 

An updated touch controller UI will allow users to easily share the in-room whiteboard upon selecting the “Present to the meeting” button, followed by the new “Whiteboard camera” option. 
new support for whiteboard cameras on Google Meet Hardware

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 

This feature makes it easier to share what's on a whiteboard with everyone in the meeting, regardless of location, so they can collaborate more effectively. 


Additional details 

The Logitech Scribe is the first whiteboard camera to be certified for use with Google Meet hardware in the new category of content cameras. Additional partnerships will be explored to expand our content camera support. We will make announcements as those become available. 
The Logitech Scribe


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. However, admins will have the option of setting a default whiteboard camera in the Admin console if they want to receive alerts when it goes offline. To set a default peripheral camera:
    • Go to Menu > Devices > Google Meet hardware > Devices
    • Some features may require the manage Devices privilege for Google Meet hardware
    • In the Connected peripherals section, select the peripheral you want to set as the default > click “Set As Default”
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. In order to use the whiteboard feature, a Logitech Scribe must be plugged into a Google Meet hardware device. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware kits with touch controller support and Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date.

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – May 26, 2023

6 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace customers.


Improving the Google Meet experience on foldable devices
If you’re using Google Meet on a foldable device, you’ll notice an improved experience in tabletop mode. Meet will automatically adjust the grid layout and control bar to best suit your device, making it easier to participate and interact during meetings. | Learn more about joining a video meeting.


Additional refinements to email notifications sent from Google Classroom
We’re updating the email notification experience in Google Classroom to make it easier for students and teachers to find the right information more efficiently in order to take action in Classroom. Specifically, you’ll notice refreshed visual design and language, clearer focus on action items, and easier access to notification settings. | Learn more about managing notification.
Additional refinements to email notifications sent from Google Classroom

Introducing new keyboard shortcuts in Google Sheets
We’re adding new keyboard shortcuts to Google Sheets to help you increase your productivity and perform actions faster. Examples include: applying/removing bold formatting, moving to the next Sheet, and displaying the Find and Replace box. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for June 7, 2023. | Learn more about keyboard shortcuts for Google Sheets.

Find what you need faster with new Google Drive organizational options
You will now have more control over how files and folders are displayed in various views within Google Drive for Web. For example, we’re adding a new drop-down menu in both grid and list layouts that will enable you to select whether folders should always appear "on top" or if they should be "mixed with files". Additionally, while in the Search view, the new menu will provide display options specifically related to your search, which returns results sorted by relevancy and modification date. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for June 7, 2023. | Learn more about viewing & reordering your files and folders.




Pin multiple participants from Google Meet Hardware devices
You can now pin multiple video tiles using Google Meet hardware. Pinning can be used to highlight speakers, presentations, and other key attendees in the video feed. Now you can use this functionality however you’re joining a meeting: desktop, mobile, or a conference room. | Available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet Hardware. | Learn more about pinning Google Meet participants.

Improving the Google Meet experience on foldable devices
If you’re using Google Meet on a foldable device, you’ll notice an improved experience in tabletop mode. Meet will automatically adjust the grid layout and control bar to best suit your device, making it easier to participate and interact during meetings.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Simplify workflows in Google Docs with variable chips
We introduced variable chips, a new feature that makes document creation for things like invoices, contracts, or broader communications much easier. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus customers and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about variable chips in Google Docs.


Extending client-side encryption to chat messages in Google Meet
If you’re using client-side encryption for Meet, in-meeting chat will now be supported. As with the audio and video content of your client-side encrypted meetings, all in-meeting chat messages will be encrypted and inaccessible by any third party, including Google. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers hosting client-side encrypted calls only. | Learn more about client-side encryption for in-meeting chat on Google Meet.


Adding new capabilities to timeline view in Google Sheets
We added the following capabilities to expand the timeline view feature: enhanced formatting options, including card text truncation and the undo/redo option, a card collapsed view that enables you to merge cards into a single row for each card group, and print and download support. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more about timeline view in Google Sheets. 


Set expirations for files in shared drives using Google Drive API
Developers will now be able to fully control file expirations via the Google Drive API (creating, reading, updating, deleting), and users will be able to see, but not edit file expirations in the sharing dialog. | Available to Google Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about setting expirations for files in shared drives using Google Drive API. 


Enable your users to report inappropriate messages for review
Admins can enable content reporting for their Google Chat users. Once a user has flagged a message, admins can find more information about the incident in the Security Investigation Tool and decide whether further action is needed. This feature is available for Google Chat on the web and mobile devices. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about reporting inappropriate messages. 

Contacts delegates can now update labels and manage “Other” contacts
We’re updating the functionality for delegated users to manage contact labels on behalf of their delegator via contacts.google.com. While this functionality was previously available in Gmail, they can now be managed directly at the source: Contacts. This will happen in two phases: 

Beginning this month, delegators will be prompted to review and re-approve access for their existing delegates. If existing delegates are not re-approved before July 2023, they will lose access to manage contacts. | Learn more about these additional capabilities for Contacts delegates and additional action required.

Improving consistency of Gmail data across the Security Investigation Tool and BigQuery
In August 2022, we announced the movement of the existing Gmail logs in BigQuery to Google Workspace logs and reports in BigQuery, creating a single space to access all of your Google Workspace audit events. 

To further improve this experience, you’ll see all Gmail log events from the Security Investigation Tool (SIT) in your Google Workspace logs and reports in BigQuery. This includes device types and post-delivery actions (for example open, delete, clicked links, and attachment downloads). | Learn more about the newly added columns.

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains:
Scheduled Release Domains:

Expanding admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices

What’s changing 

We’re increasing the number of admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices from three to twelve. This gives admins more ways to delegate admin roles and access as it pertains to device data and management within the Admin console. 

Previous Google Meet hardware privileges





Updated Google Meet hardware privileges






Why it’s important 

Previously, admins had limited ability to restrict access to Google Meet hardware data and functionality in the Admin console to their delegated admins. Aside from the most recently added enrollment privilege, access could otherwise only be granted with or without calendar assignment functionality—no further customization was possible. 

Some of the new privileges include the ability to: 
  • View devices: Admins get read-only access to device data, including issue history and fleet data export functionality; required to be able to access pages hosting functionality in many other privileges (including Manage calendar assignment, Perform actions and its child privileges, and Deprovision Google Meet hardware).
  • Manage organizational unit settings: Admins can edit Google Meet hardware settings controlled at the organizational unit-level and move devices between organizational units 
  • Manage device meetings: Admins can connect to a meeting remotely and mute or hang up an active call 

A full list of new roles, with descriptions, can be found in our Help Center. 

Additionally, two of the existing hardware privileges have been renamed for clarity within the new privilege structure: 
  • Google Meet hardware with Calendar is now Manage Google Meet hardware and calendars.
  • Google Meet hardware without Calendar is now Manage Google Meet hardware.
Admins who have already been assigned existing privileges will not experience any functional changes – the privilege will remain assigned but with the updated name. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: Admins who wish to use this new functionality to provide more limited access will need to create a custom role (create, edit, and delete custom admin roles) with the specific Google Meet hardware privileges they wish to assign to a delegated admin. Existing admins already assigned privileges will not be affected. 

Rollout 


Availability 

  • Available for all Google Meet hardware customers. 

Resources

New updates for Google Meet on Poly Android-based appliances

What’s changing 

We are rolling out updates to Google Meet to support our upcoming launch of Google Meet on Poly Android-based appliances. Within the Google admin console, admins can enroll Poly devices and include reporting of these new appliances. The Google Meet hardware experience will become available in the upcoming Poly OS 4.0 update as part of the Poly Studio X series family. 


This update will become available over the next few weeks. However customers and admins can try out this experience ahead of the official Poly OS 4.0 launch by downloading the current beta candidate for their Studio X series device. For more information, please reach out to your Poly account team or reseller.


Additional details 

The Google Meet hardware experience will be available on the Poly Studio X series family once they have been updated to Poly OS 4.0. Admins can enroll these devices and manage them as part of the regular Google Admin console experience. The Poly Studio X family offers appliances of all sizes: Studio X30 for small rooms, Studio X50 for medium rooms, and Studio X70 for large rooms. 




This latest update will make it easier for customers currently using the Studio X line to switch to Google Meet from other conferencing platforms. It also offers new customers more choice and flexibility in their hardware options for Google Meet. 


Google Meet on Poly Android appliances require Google Meet hardware licenses; these can be purchased through authorized resellers. Please contact your existing Google Meet hardware or Poly reseller for more details.


Getting started

  • End users: No action required. Once a Studio X Series device has been successfully enrolled, you can join Google Meet meetings normally. 

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available on Poly X30, X50 and X70 with support for additional Poly devices will be added over time
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 17, 2023

2 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers.


360 degree video backgrounds available for Google Meet on mobile
Adding to our existing library of immersive backgrounds, Meet users on mobile can use several new 360 degree video backgrounds. These backgrounds—which include a beach and a temple—use your device's gyroscope to create a dynamic experience that moves with you. Note that Admins can turn backgrounds on or off for their users. | Available on Android and iOS devices for all Google Workspace users and users with personal Google Accounts. 
Editable widgets now available for Chat app cards 
Developers can now include interactive widgets like checkboxes, radio buttons, and dropdowns in Chat app cards that are posted in the Chat message stream. This will allow you to quickly modify information sent from Chat apps, such as: 
  • Changing the assignee on a task card or changing the due date on a task card
  • Selecting or deselecting options on a card
This feature is available now to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers only.



Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


New setting for content managers to modify shared drives now on by default
Last December, we announced an upcoming shared drive setting for content managers to modify shared drives. Starting today, all content managers will have the ability to share folders by default, in addition to their current capabilities of editing, reorganizing, and deleting shared drive content. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more. 


Client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available
Client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available to eligible Workspace editions. Additionally, based on feedback from beta, we’ve extended client-side encryption to support Key Migration and Google Takeout. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers only. | Learn more.


Improving accessibility of the “connect device” feature on Google Meet hardware devices
We’re updating the home screen on Series On Desk 27 and Board 65 devices to feature a “Connect device” button as a quick action. | Learn more. 


Google Calendar and Assistant Reminders will migrate to Google Tasks soon
As previously announced, in the coming months, we’ll migrate Reminders from Google Calendar and Google Assistant to Google Tasks to create a single experience for managing to-dos across Google. | Learn more.


Improving the Google Contact management experience
We’re introducing a new feature available in the Google Contacts sidebar that lets you create new contacts and edit existing contacts. Whether you want to edit contacts faster or create contacts more easily, this update streamlines the contact management experience. | Learn more. 


Control the visibility of warning banners in Gmail with a new admin control
We’re giving admins more control over whether warning banners for incoming email messages are displayed for their end users. Specifically, admins can choose to disable spam filters and hide warning banners for: All users and a specific allowlist of senders. | Learn more. 


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains:
Scheduled Release Domains:
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

Improving accessibility of the “connect device” feature on Google Meet hardware devices

What’s changing 

We’re updating the home screen on Series On Desk 27 and Board 65 devices to feature a “Connect device” button as a quick action. 

One of the key values of the Desk 27 and Board 65 devices is the ability to use it as a primary monitor by connecting it to your laptop — by surfacing the “Connect device” button, you can take advantage of this capability faster. Further, this improves the discoverability of the feature, which was only accessible via a physical button on the back of the Desk 27 and Board 65. 

Getting started

  • Admins and End users: No action required — these updates will be available automatically. 


Rollout pace



Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers


Resources:

New built-in interoperability between Google Meet and Zoom

What’s changing

As previously announced in October, we’re introducing video conferencing device interoperability for Google Meet with Zoom, which will allow you to:

  • Join Zoom Meetings from Google Meet hardware devices
  • Join Google Meet meetings from Zoom Rooms

Please note that Zoom interoperability supports core video conferencing features. Some advanced features, such as polls, wired present, and dual-screen support may not be available when using Meet hardware to join Zoom Meetings and vice versa. 



Left: Zoom Meetings on Google Meet hardware. Right: Google Meet on Zoom Rooms


We hope this latest update makes it even easier for our customers and their users to connect and collaborate with people outside of the Google Meet ecosystem. 


Additional details

There is no additional cost associated with using this new built-in interoperability feature on supported devices.


Scheduled join and join via meeting code will be supported, as will the ability to configure no-knock joining (lobby bypass) in either direction. 


Similar built-in interoperability is already available between Google Meet and Cisco Webex on each platform’s respective devices. And Pexip continues to enable joining Meet meetings from the widest range of third-party video conferencing hardware, including older devices that may not support built-in interoperability. Use this Help Center article to learn more about Pexip. 


Getting started


Zoom interop on Google Meet hardware

    • To configure no-knock join for Zoom Meetings from Meet hardware, generate a token in the Zoom Admin at Account Management > Account Settings > Meeting > Allow my organization's 3rd party conference room systems to join my Zoom meetings as an authorized user and paste it in the Google Workspace Admin at Devices > Google Meet hardware > Settings > Service settings > Built-in interoperability direct access.

  • End users: When enabled by your admin, you can join a Zoom meeting from a Google Meet hardware device by: 
    • Joining an ad-hoc meeting by tapping "Join or start a meeting" on your touch controller and selecting Zoom from the dropdown options. 
    • Joining a scheduled meeting by adding a room to an event with Zoom meeting details.  
      • Note: Calendar events that originate outside of Google Calendar must be duplicated and populated with room details manually, or have their Zoom join details copy and pasted into the description field of a new Calendar event.
  • Visit the Help Center to learn more about Google Meet interoperability.
Meet interop on Zoom Rooms

  • Admins: Meet interop on Zoom Rooms will be off by default and can be enabled from the Zoom Admin at Room Management > Zoom Rooms > Meeting > Support Google Meet web client meeting on Zoom Rooms.  For more information, visit the Zoom Support page.

  • To configure no-knock join for Meet meetings from Zoom Rooms, generate a token in the Workspace Admin console at Apps > Google Workspace > Settings for Google Meet > Interoperability tokens and paste it in the Zoom Admin in the Google Meet Interop Token field located at Room Management > Zoom Rooms > Support Google Meet web client meeting on Zoom Rooms. 

  • End users: When enabled by your admin, you can join a Meet meeting from a Zoom Room by:
    • Joining an ad-hoc meeting from your Zoom Room Controller by entering a Google Meet meeting code
    • Joining a scheduled meeting by adding a room to an event with Google Meet details
    • Visit the Zoom Support page for more information.


Rollout pace

Zoom interop on Meet hardware

Admin Setting

End User Availability (on Devices)

Meet interop on Zoom Rooms

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – December 2, 2022

New updates 

There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 


Previous announcements


The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Improved meeting quality when joining on virtual machines 
If you use a Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) such as Citrix or VMWare to join Google Meet calls, you’ll notice an increase in video and audio quality. Meet will now detect whether you’re joining from a VDI and automatically adjust for the best performance. | Learn more. 


Use the Cloud Search Query API to set Suggest Filters to enhance Cloud Search results 
It’s now easier to configure and use Cloud Search search filters and facets with multiple enhancements to our existing functionalities. With this launch, you can use the Cloud Search Query API to configure new additional capabilities. | Available to Google Cloud Search Customers only. | Learn more.



For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Improved meeting quality when joining on virtual machines

What’s changing

If you use a Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) such as Citrix or VMWare to join Google Meet calls, you’ll notice an increase in video and audio quality. Meet will now detect whether you’re joining from a VDI and automatically adjust for the best performance. This optimization will also help cut down on the demand put on your VDIs, such as CPU, GPU, and memory usage, helping improve meeting quality and overall performance. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: Ensure Google Meet can detect that it’s running inside a virtual machine (VM) by enabling the Enterprise Hardware Platform API policy in Chrome. Visit the API page and the Help Center to learn more about how to set Chrome policies for users or browsers and use VDIs with Google Meet. 
  • End users: There is no end user action required — Google Meet will automatically optimize your experience when using a VDI. 


Rollout pace 



Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 


Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – October 14, 2022

New updates 


There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 


Previous announcements


The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.



In-room meeting participants can now join break out rooms 
When using Google Meet Hardware devices, meeting hosts can now assign conference rooms to breakout rooms. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more. 


Transcribe speech during Google Meet calls into a Google Doc 
You can now transcribe a Google Meet video meeting into a Google Doc. The transcribed file is saved in the hosts “Meet Recordings” folder in Google Drive, similar to meeting recordings. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more. 


Use SIP Link to link phone numbers from local carriers to Google Voice 
For Google Voice Standard and Premier customers, admins can now connect a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk with Voice. This allows phone numbers (PSTN services) from local carriers to be used for Google Voice through a secure set of certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs), such as Audiocodes, Cisco, Oracle, and Ribbon. | Available with Voice Standard and Voice Premier licenses only. | Learn more. 


Preview and interact with files using smart chips in Google Sheets 
As an extension of smart canvas, you can now add Google Drive files directly into a Google Sheet as a smart chip. | Learn more. 


Expanding smart chips to include events in Google Sheets 
In addition to the recent announcement of adding files to Google Sheets using smart chips, we're also making it easier for you to quickly insert Calendar events into Sheets. | Learn more. 


Join or start a meeting directly from Jamboard on the web to kickstart collaboration 
We’re expanding interoperability with Google Meet and Jamboard with the option to join or start a meeting directly from Jamboard on the web. This makes it easier for you to seamlessly present your jam and start collaborating. | Learn more. 


Data loss prevention for Google Chat now generally available 
Over the next several weeks, data loss prevention (DLP) rules for Google Chat will become generally available for select Google Workspace editions. Data protection rules for Chat help admins and security experts build a stronger framework around sensitive data to prevent personal or proprietary information from ending up in the wrong hands. | Learn more. 

Improve your visibility in Google Meet video calls
Google Meet can now automatically frame your video before joining a meeting to help ensure equal visibility for all participants. The automatic framing happens only once, so there are no motion distractions that can divert attention from the content of the meeting. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Education Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Workspace Individual customers with eligible devices. Also available to Google One subscribers with 2TB or more storage space with eligible devices. | Learn more. 

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).