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Despite all its security and privacy issues (many of them now fixed), Zoom remains one of the most popular video conferencing apps, having come to prominence at a time when millions are trapped at home due to coronavirus pandemic.
It’s no wonder, then, that its competitors are struggling to add Zoom-like features to their offerings. Last on that list is Google, which has just updated its Meet video conferencing software with a new tiled design, allowing users to simultaneously view up to 16 callers at a time.
Until now, Meet users could only see four participants on the call at a time, and while changing to 16 might seem like a small change, it makes the difference between a business meeting and, well, a party. And yes, both Meet and Zoom are geared primarily towards business customers, but the pandemic has millions of users simply looking for the best video conferencing app, damn it.
The new feature was reported a week ago, but is now official.
Google introduced three other new features, which it claims were the top requests from Meet users. You now have the ability to share higher quality video content, with audio, to other call participants. This feature is being implemented for everyone today.
There’s also a new low-light mode, which should make you more visible in low-light, although this is only being implemented for mobile users right now, with support for web users to come later. Finally, there is now a noise cancellation option, which will begin rolling out “in the coming weeks,” first for G Suite Enterprise and G Suite Enterprise for Education customers, starting with web users and then mobile users.
Changes are welcome, but it’s worth noting that, unlike Zoom, Google Meet isn’t free; requires a G Suite account, starting at $ 6 per month per person. Google has several free video conferencing options for personal use, such as Google Hangouts and Duo, but Hangouts does not support a tiled view of call participants, and Duo has a maximum of 12 participants.
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