Google Meet Gets Top Requested Features, Including Tiled Layout for Brady Bunch

The above header image, taken straight from Google’s blog post announcing the following news, has some serious Brady Bunch vibes. Because of that, I ask you to watch this, then read on.

Google announced this morning that because usage of Google Meet has skyrocketed, presumably thanks to damned COVID-19, they are introducing four highly requested features, rolling out to users starting today. The big inclusion is a tiled view for larger calls. With this, you’ll be able to see up to 16 participants at once, up from the previous max of four. This is awesome, just don’t end up like this poor person. OMG, I’d probably just die right then and there.

Other additions include a new low-light mode powered by AI. Made specifically for mobile users, this mode auto-adjusts light to make you more visible when in crappy lighting conditions.

Here’s the full changelog.

What’s New

• Tiled layout for larger calls: The expanded tiled layout now lets web users simultaneously see up to 16 participants at once (previously, tiled layouts only enabled you to see four people at a time). More updates are coming for larger meetings, better presentation layouts, and support across more devices.
• Present higher-quality video content with audio: Users now have the option to present a Chrome tab (instead of just presenting their window or entire screen). If you need to share high-quality video with audio content in meetings, select this option for the best experience for remote viewers. The “present a Chrome tab” feature is rolling out to general availability as of today.
• Low-light mode: Meet can now use AI to automatically adjust your video to make you more visible to other participants in sub-optimal lighting conditions. This feature is currently rolling out to mobile users, and will be available to web users in the future.
• Noise cancellation: To help limit interruptions to your meeting, Meet can now intelligently filter out background distractions—like your dog barking or keystrokes as you take meeting notes. 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.

Enjoy.

// Google