Google Meet to soon feature new grid-style layout and Gmail integration

 As the world is reeling from the Coronavirus outbreak, more people are staying home and some are even working from home. This has caused internet usage to skyrocket and video conferencing apps are seeing a lot of traffic. Video conferencing is one of the ways people can stay in touch with their loved ones and even attending official meetings. This has given apps like Google Meet new life. Google is taking the opportunity to add new features and improve Google Meet. Just as a reminder, Google Meet used to be called Google Hangouts. If you’d like to know more about why and how Google changed Hangouts into Meet, you can do so here. 

Google Meet will now get Gmail integration just like Hangouts, previously. The app will also feature a grid-style setup much like another video conferencing app in Zoom. These changes will start rolling out today. A part of the G-Suite package, Google Meet will receive a new option to join a video conference soon. Google has not given any specific dates but according to reports, it should start rolling out next month. The Meet app will also receive the option to show 16 video streams in a similar layout to Zoom, which is to say a grid-styled layout. 

Outer improvements include clearer video in low light environments and more comprehensive filtering of background noise. Users will also be able to access Google Meet from their Gmail account. The integration with Gmail should start rolling out today with the grid-style layout appearing later in the month. 

If you’d like to know more about which video conferencing apps you could and should use during the lockdown, you can check that out here.