With millions around the world under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, it is no longer a secret that we have turned to technology for work and also to stay connected with our loved ones. Unsurprisingly, the video conferencing apps are clocking the download volumes, perhaps, at an unprecedented level that has never been seen before. They are often rolling out new updates and features on a daily basis. So, what is the reason behind this? While we are needing these video apps more than ever, the tech giants are also vying to move up the ladder to lure more customers, who, for instance, used to knuckle down on one particular app before the pandemic broke out.
Now, Google Meet has once again rolled out four new features in its enterprise conferencing app Meet. The first one includes a Zoom gallery-like layout, allowing users to add 16 participants all at once. Earlier, this was limited to four and was a major drawback, compared to Zoom that allows up to a hundred participants on camera at one go. Interestingly, in an effort to provide users with an improved video calling experience users will also get better video in low light thanks to Google's AI enhancement.
Presently rolled out to Android mobile users around the world, the new update will bring in AI algorithms that would automatically adjust the video to make users more visible to other participants in sub-optimal lighting conditions. “To help limit interruptions to your meeting, Meet can now intelligently filter out background distractions. Noise cancellation 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,” said Smita Hashim, Director of Product Management, Google Meet, Voice and Calendar.
While the company announced that it will soon roll out more updates for larger meetings, better presentation layouts, and support across more devices, it is safe to assume that Google's main aim is to take on Zoom's skyrocketing popularity. However, as people around the world are slowly opting out of using Zoom, thanks to the controversies related to privacy, it is safe to assume that Google has decided to cash in on this opportunity to lure more users into using Meet. In addition to expanding the tiled layout, Google also added the option to present an individual Chrome tab instead of a window or the entire screen.
Another important update is the improved noise cancellation. While Zoom provides users with a noise-canceling feature by detecting and suppressing background noises, it mainly operates when participants are not speaking. However, it seems, Google Meet has gone one step ahead as its noise-cancellation feature will function regardless of whether the participants are speaking or not.
All said and done, while Meet has a long way to go before it can think of usurping Zoom, however, going forward, it will be interesting to see whether the new updates can actually give it an edge in the weeks or months to come.
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