Tag Archives: Google Meet Hardware

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).

In-room meeting participants can now join break out rooms

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘22. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event. Visit the Cloud Blog to learn more about the latest Google Workspace innovations for the ever-changing world of work. 

What’s changing 

When using Google Meet Hardware devices, meeting hosts can now assign conference rooms to breakout rooms. Extending breakout rooms to all meeting participants—whether they’re joining remotely or in the office—ensures everyone can engage in collaborative working sessions. 



Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be available by default — once a meeting participant joins from a meeting room, the meeting host can assign it to a breakout room. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using breakout rooms in Meet.

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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 

Note that all meeting participants can participate in breakout rooms. 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – September 9, 2022

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.  

Dual pane view on Keep
In addition to Drag out from Keep and a number of other features supporting the mission to provide a top-class user experience on large screen devices, we’re introducing Dual pane view on Keep. This allows you to browse Keep notes on the left side of your screen, while editing content on the right side of your screen. | Roll out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains began September 8, 2022 at a Gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Learn more. 

dual pane on keep

Multi-instance support on Docs, Sheets & Slides
Get better insight into your files by having two windows open side-by-side. | Roll out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains began September 7, 2022 at a Gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Learn more. 

View information about recipients on Android
While using the Gmail app on Android devices, you can now view details about a person, such as their phone number or email address, by tapping their name or avatar when composing an email. | This is now available to all users. 

Upon tapping Elisa's image or name, more information will appear 

Keep contacts up to date with fewer clicks
You can now edit someone’s contact information from their information card in apps like Gmail, Calendar, Voice, and Docs on your Android device. Upon clicking the edit button, you will be prompted to make updates in the Contacts app. | Roll out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains began September 7, 2022 at an Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility). 

contact edit

Notification permission now required for devices running Android 13
Upon upgrading to the latest platform release, Android 13, you will have to explicitly accept notification permissions to receive Chat notifications. | Roll out to all Android users began September 9, 2022 at a Gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Learn more. 


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. 

Calendar User Availability API launching to beta soon, sign-up now and preview documentation in advance
There is an upcoming beta available for the Calendar User Availability API that can be used to programmatically access the working location feature in Google Calendar. Access the beta through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program. | While all developers will be able to use the API, apps created using the API are accessible to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Nonprofits customers, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more. 

Scaling our Calendar Interop offering
Admins can now configure multiple role accounts in the Calendar Interop Admin console. This will provide support for a higher number of requests and enable Calendar Interop to work more seamlessly at scale. | Learn more. 

Updating framing options for Google Meet hardware in the Admin console
Over the coming weeks, we will replace the current continuous framing setting with the option to set default framing options based on the camera capabilities of the device — such as the option to frame people by default and speaker or group framing, which will be introduced in the future. | Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more. 


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

Updating framing options for Google Meet hardware in the Admin console

What’s changing 

We’ve recently announced updates to framing on Google Meet hardware devices, such as improving the discoverability of the “Frame people” feature and improving the overall stability of the framing experience. 


As we continue to roll out framing and Meet hardware improvements, the Admin console will be updated accordingly. Over the coming weeks, we will replace the current continuous framing setting with the option to set default framing options based on the camera capabilities of the device — such as the option to frame people by default and speaker or group framing, which will be introduced in the future. This helps ensure that each Meet hardware device uses settings that are best suited for the room and participants.

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin action required. We will provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when the new admin controls are implemented. 
  • End users: No action required, this change will happen automatically. Note: This feature is not available when other devices, such as a webcam, are plugged into a meeting hardware kit. 


Rollout pace


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date.

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – September 2, 2022

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. 


Refining notifications on the Google Classroom app 
We’ve made the following improvement to Google Classroom notifications: 
In addition to setting your preference for Classroom push notifications, you can now tailor your email notifications from Android or iOS mobile devices. | Learn more.





The text for all push notifications has been updated and we’ve enhanced Classroom action options, such as “Join class” or “View comment.” With this update, Classroom push notifications are much clearer and more actionable. | Learn more. 

These features are available now to Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. 


Insert Google Maps place chips into Google Docs
Last year, we added the ability for you to insert a Google Maps place chip into a Google Doc by pasting a Maps link directly into the document. Now, you can insert place chips into your Docs using the @ menu. | Roll out to Rapid Release began August 22, 2022; launch to Scheduled Release planned for September 8, 2022. | Learn more. 




Google Meet now automatically adjusts the volume of meeting participants 
With meeting participants using various devices to join a meeting, this can lead to discrepancies in volume, with some participants sounding louder than others. Meet will adjust the audio of all participants, helping to ensure everyone is equally loud. To take advantage of this feature, make sure noise cancellation is turned on. We hope this makes for smoother meetings, with less disruptions. 


Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Individual customers 



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. 



Dark Canvas theme now available on Google Meet hardware home screen 
We’re adding support for a dark home page theme for Google Meet hardware devices. When using Dark Canvas, devices will now feature dark user interface elements on the home screen when not in an active call. | Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more.



Easily customize digital signage on your Google Meet hardware through Appspace 
We’re giving admins more options for customization by using their Appspace digital signage content. | Learn more. 



Insert emojis inline with text in Google Docs 
You can now express yourself in a new way by searching for and inserting emojis directly inline with your text in Google Docs. | Learn more. 



Work Insights reporting for Google Chat and Google Meet 
With the recent upgrade from Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers, we’re pleased to introduce a Work Insights product for Meet and Chat. Work Insights allows for optimal visibility into your organization’s digital transformation journey, and helps to improve collaboration, promote growth, and much more. | Learn More. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers 



Google Hangouts will be fully upgraded to Google Chat starting November 1, 2022 
As a final step in the migration, beginning November 1, 2022, Google Hangouts on web will redirect to Google Chat on web, and Hangouts will no longer be accessible. Admins will receive an email containing more information about this change, as well as changes in Vault and exporting Hangouts data. | Learn More. 


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

Easily customize digital signage on your Google Meet hardware through Appspace

What’s changing 

In December 2021, we announced the ability for admins to use their displays as digital signage when their Meet hardware devices are not in use. Today, we’re giving admins more options for customization by using their Appspace digital signage content. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 



Why it’s important 

You can leverage the screensaver on your Google Meet hardware devices to display corporate signage or customized content across your hardware fleet. 


We know many of our customers use Appspace for general digital signage needs within their organizations. This update makes it easier for you to use Appspace as a source for content to display on your Google Meet hardware devices. 


Please note that screen savers are not interactive—tapping your touch controller or using the remote will cause the screen saver to be dismissed, and the device will return to displaying the agenda on the homepage. 


Additional details 

We highly recommend you use Appspace’s advanced registration flow to make it easier to pre-register all of your Google Meet hardware at once. Note that Appspace is a paid service and there may be additional costs associated with registering your devices on their platform. 


In some cases, this feature can conflict with the power-saving feature on your Meet hardware devices. To ensure that your custom screen saver is visible, be sure to set displays as active during working hours in the organizational unit you’re targeting. 


Getting started 


To use Appspace content on Meet Hardware, you need to: 

Register your devices on Appspace. Every hardware device now has an integration ID for use in Appspace’s pre-registration flow. You can find the integration ID on the Device detail page in the Admin console under Devices > Google Meet hardware > Devices or in the new “integrationId” column in your fleet data export file. 


You’ll need to add the integration IDs from your hardware devices in the Appspace console ahead of time before configuring your custom screensavers using the Appspace PWA. 


Once these steps are complete, navigate to Devices > Google Meet hardware > Settings > Device Settings > Screen saver. 



Select the “Custom” option and then choose Appspace as your Digital Signage Provider. Input the appropriate Appspace PWA URL in the URL field, depending on whether you use Appspace’s Public Cloud or Private Cloud: 

    • Public Cloud:https://cloud.appspace.com/app/?registrationmode=passive
    • Private Cloud: https://<customer>.cloud.appspace.com/app/pwa/?registrationmode=passive

If you do not pre-register your devices with Appspace before changing the screen saver, the screen saver will prompt you to manually pair each device using a code displayed in the room.


For more information on how to configure your content to display on Appspace, please refer to their help article. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date 

Resources

Dark Canvas theme now available on Google Meet hardware home screen

What’s changing 

We’re adding support for a dark home page theme for Google Meet hardware devices. When using Dark Canvas, devices will now feature dark user interface elements on the home screen when not in an active call. Dark Canvas mode can be applied to any Google Meet hardware device in your fleet. 






We’re also adding a new batch of Canvas wallpapers, which are specially designed by various artists to look great on Google Meet hardware devices. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

We know it’s important that your devices look their best when they’re not in use, so we’ve extended our collaboration with the Canvas Project to deliver a fresh new group of wallpapers from top artists. 


Additionally, with the upcoming launch of the Series One Desk 27”, we know many users may be sitting closer to their devices than before. Dark Canvas mode is a great way to reduce the brightness of your display while keeping them looking great. 


Additional details

The existing “Wallpaper” setting in the Admin console has now been renamed “Home screen” and the Canvas option has been split into two options: “Canvas - light” and “Canvas - dark”. Each option will have a unique selection of wallpapers specially chosen that pair well with the selected home screen theme. 


Note that custom wallpapers will continue to use light mode. 


Getting started 

  • End users: There is no action required. 
  • Admins: This is an opt-in feature and is managed at the OU level. No changes will be made to previous selections and no custom wallpapers will be affected.

    The Home screen policy can be managed at Devices > Google Meet hardware > Settings > Device Settings > Home screen. 




Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. 

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – August 26, 2022

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. 


To unmute yourself, press and hold the spacebar. To mute again, release the spacebar. 
To quickly unmute yourself during a meeting, you can now hold down the spacebar to be unmuted, then release the spacebar to return to a muted state. We hope this makes it even easier for you to participate in your meetings by quickly unmuting to say something. This feature will also help in situations where you forget to mute again after unmuting yourself. This feature is OFF by default and can be enabled in the Google Meet settings. | Roll out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains begins September 9, 2022 at a Gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Available to all Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts on all web browsers. | Learn more. 


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.


Updated “Hey Google” voice control behavior for Google Meet hardware devices 
We’ve changed how the “Hey Google” voice control works for Google Meet hardware devices. With this update, the Google assistant will only be active when a device is not in a meeting and within 10 minutes of an upcoming meeting. | Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more. 

Upgrade to OAuth 2.0 to continue using Calendar Interop by October 1, 2022 
On October 1, 2022, Microsoft will begin to remove the ability to use Basic authentication in Exchange Online for Exchange Web Services. To continue using Calendar Interop, upgrade to OAuth 2.0 authentication before October 1, 2022. | Impacting Workspace customers using Calendar Interop with Basic authentication on Microsoft Office 365. | Learn more. 

Adding more flexibility to functions in Sheets 
We’ve introduced named functions, a new feature that allows you to create high-performance custom functions that support built-in Sheets formula constructs. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more. 

More ways to collaborate using visitor sharing in Google Drive 
You can now use visitor sharing to allow non-Google users to upload content or create files within shared drives owned by organizations and users on Google Workspace. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Education Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more. 

Easily search for Chat spaces in Gmail 
We’ve introduced the ability to find and join spaces through Gmail search on web. | Learn more. 


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

Updated “Hey Google” voice control behavior for Google Meet hardware devices

What’s changing 

We’re changing how the “Hey Google” voice control works for Google Meet hardware devices. With this update, the Google assistant will only be active when a device is not in a meeting and within 10 minutes of an upcoming meeting. Not having “Hey Google” active during meetings will help reduce accidental activation. 


We’re also expanding the devices that will be able to support the “Hey Google” voice control to include Logitech Rally Bar, Logitech Rally Bar Mini and the upcoming launch of the Series One Desk 27. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 



Why it’s important 

We know “Hey Google” voice control provides an easy and convenient way to join an upcoming meeting, or to help improve accessibility for users. However, we’ve heard from our customers that due to the increase in teams transitioning to hybrid meetings, the “Hey Google” control can unintentionally be triggered during meetings. We hope this improvement helps reduce any accidental disruptions during your calls. 



Additional details 

Because “Hey Google” will only be active when there is an upcoming meeting, the end user toggle has been removed to ensure the hardware device is in the expected default state for future use. 




Getting started 

  • Admins: Admins will still be able to enable or disable voice control in the admin console at a device level. 
  • End users: There is no end user action required. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date 

Resources: