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Google Meet to introduce an on-the-go mode for traveling meetings
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Sometimes users need to walk around during a conference call and, understanding that reality, Google is currently working on a new mode for Google Meet called ‘On-the-Go.’ This mode transforms the video conferencing Android app’s UI into a much simpler one that’s better suited for traveling outside while on a call.

The concept behind this mode is to make walking while tuned into a Google Meet meeting much safer. It accomplishes this by creating a much more intuitive layout that, according to 9to5Google, “will disable your camera in the call and stop streaming video from other participants. You’ll also be greeted with a new layout with only a handful of large, easily-pressed buttons for Mute, Audio (to switch between Bluetooth, speaker, etc.), and Raise (your hand).”

You can check out screenshots showcasing how the new layout will look once enabled:

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on the go feature screenshot

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on the go feature screenshot

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on the go feature screenshot

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on the go feature screenshot

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on the go feature screenshot

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on the go feature screenshot

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‘On-the-Go’ can be enabled in two ways: the first is by Google Meet detecting through your smartphone’s motion sensors that you’re walking, it will prompt you to switch to the new mode. And for the second method, you can manually enable the mode through the in-call menu.

Google currently hasn’t rolled out the feature to everyone just yet, but judging by the screenshots it’s most likely close to a public release.

Google Meet is getting even better 

Google has been working on making its video call application much more functional and intuitive to use. Both 2022 and 2023 have seen a host of changes to the UI, with 2023 introducing ones like added new features to the picture-in-picture mode, blocking video feeds from other meeting participants to more easily focus on the people you want, and using generative AI to create new backgrounds during meetings.

Back in 2022, Google added several other features like subject tracking to better focus on a participant, letting users mute and unmute themselves on the desktop version by using the spacebar, and automatically adjusting a participant’s mic input to avoid particularly massive discrepancies in volumes.

It’s good to see that the tech giant is trying to better its service, considering how many people rely on it for remote work. While these seem like minor improvements, quality-of-life changes to an application or service always add up in big ways and really help to enhance the user experience.

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Google Meet thinks it might finally be able to topple Microsoft Teams at last
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Google is looking to up its game in the video conferencing space with the launch of several new AI-powered tools and services.

The company has revealed that Google Meet is getting some new AI boosts, aimed at making it a core part of your everyday working life, but also one that reflects you.

Revealed at Google I/O 2023, the tools use the newly-announced Duet AI for Google Workspace platform to allow users to generate their own customized virtual backgrounds based on text descriptions, opening up a whole world of possibilities.

Google Meet Duet AI

Google had hinted at plans for generative AI backgrounds in Meet earlier this year as part of its big Workspace AI push, but this marks the first time we've seen the technology in action.

In a demo at Google I/O, the company was able to demonstrate how just a few words could generate detailed backgrounds that let users show off a bit more personality whilst on a call. The company also mentioned potential examples such as a salesperson tailoring their background depending on which prospective client they are meeting with, or a manager celebrating the employee of the month with a personalized background of their favorite things in a team call.

Google Meet duet ai

(Image credit: Google)

“It's a subtle, personal touch to show you care about the people you're connecting with and what's important to them,” a Google blog post announcing the changes noted.

Duet AI is already a central background presence across Google Workspace, working in the background to assist on tasks such as writing Gmail messages or giving you prompts in Google Docs.

Along with Meet, the system is also be geared up for use across other key Google Workspace services such as Slides and Sheets as the company looks to make all your working tools smarter and more intuitive.

Opinion – enough to triumph over Microsoft Teams?

AI is everywhere in the software world right now, as companies of all sizes scramble to include the technology in their processes and platforms.

Video conferencing should be an ideal place for AI to make a real impact, boosting signal strength and call quality. But personalization is also another way for this new era of technology to make a difference. Now we're all used to video calls, making them more bearable is the next step, and customized backgrounds could be a small step towards that.

Just days after Microsoft Teams announced a whole host of new virtual backgrounds aimed at enhancing collaboration and productivity, including collections aimed at boosting mental health, Google Meet will be hoping its generative AI offering will be enough to capture user's attention.

In the end, it remains to be seen – do you want your workplace calls to be unique, special and customized – or keeping to some veneer of professionalism?

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Google Meet calls will now remove background noise, even if you dial in from your phone
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Google Meet calls are about to get more serene for phone users, thanks to the expansion of the video conferencing software's noise cancellation feature.

As part of a sweep of updates to Google Workspace, the company's suite of productivity tools, those who dial into a meeting from their phone can now enjoy the same elimination of background noise as desktop users. 

Google says the technology “can remove background noises such as typing, closing a door, room echo, or the sounds of a nearby construction site” to enable the complete focus of participants without distraction. It will also make them easier to hear too.

Select customers

The tech giant says that it only filters out noises that are not clearly those of a human voice. So voices coming from other sources, such as a nearby TV or radio, or other people talking in the room, will not be filtered out.

It therefore advises that if other sounds are needed in your call, such as the playing of musical instruments, for example, then noise cancellation should be turned off in order for them to be picked up. This is perhaps why for those subscribed to one of the educational tiers of Google Workspace, the feature is off by default.

To toggle noise cancellation on or off on, you need to tap or click the cog icon that open up the settings when on Google Meet. For iPhone and Android device users, they should see a noise cancellation option that they can tap to activate or deactivate. Desktop/ laptop users will find this option under the audio section of the settings. 

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However, it appears that for those calling into a meeting with their phone, noise cancellation is activated depending on whether your organization has it turned on or off beforehand. 

Noise cancellation for phone users is now available for the following Workspace customers only: Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Frontline”.

Noise cancellation in general is currently unavailable to those in “South Africa, UAE, and the immediately surrounding areas”. Google also mentions that those using an electrolarynx should have the feature turned off, and that Pexip device users have it on by default, and should refer to the device documentation to turn it off. 

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Google Meet can now fix your most embarrassing meeting fail
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Google has revealed a selection of tweaks and upgrades for Meet as it looks to help users improve their video conferencing experience.

The company has announced a centralized location for the controls used by hosts to manage a call, rather than splitting out various tools across the window, in a bid to simplify hosting duties.

Alongside this, Google Meet has also received a slightly sad-looking tool aimed at helping you leave a meeting if you're the only person present.

Google Meet empty calls

The new “leave empty call reminder” prompts users to leave a meeting if they're the only one to join a call, hopefully meaning an end to any awkward loitering if your co-workers have forgotten to join.

“Are you still there?” the prompt asks. “You've been waiting a long time. Do you want to keep waiting to join?”

Google Meet still joining call

(Image credit: Google Workspace)

“Now, when you’re the only person in a meeting for five minutes, you’ll receive a prompt asking whether you want to stay or leave the meeting,” the official Google Workspace update blog for the feature noted. “If you don’t respond after two minutes, you will automatically leave the meeting.”

Google says that it also hopes the feature will help prevent situations where your audio or video is unintentionally shared, so no-one should be able to eavesdrop on you just in case you do start up a call accidentally.

The feature is available for Google Meet on desktop and iOS devices to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers and users with personal Google accounts now, with an Android launch also scheduled “soon”.

Read more

> Google Meet aims to tear down the language barrier

> Google Calendar update will stop meetings clogging up your day

> Massive Google Workspace update dials up the fight for hybrid working supremacy

The Host management menu updates are available for all Google Workspace users now, and can now be found under the “Host Controls” button located in the bottom bar in a Google Meet call. 

The update is only for desktop versions of Google Meet, where the company says host and co-host controls are currently spread across multiple locations.

“We hope this change makes it easier to manage your meeting settings by reducing the need to switch between various menus,” the company said.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Google Meet can now fix your most embarrassing meeting fail
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Google has revealed a selection of tweaks and upgrades for Meet as it looks to help users improve their video conferencing experience.

The company has announced a centralized location for the controls used by hosts to manage a call, rather than splitting out various tools across the window, in a bid to simplify hosting duties.

Alongside this, Google Meet has also received a slightly sad-looking tool aimed at helping you leave a meeting if you're the only person present.

Google Meet empty calls

The new “leave empty call reminder” prompts users to leave a meeting if they're the only one to join a call, hopefully meaning an end to any awkward loitering if your co-workers have forgotten to join.

“Are you still there?” the prompt asks. “You've been waiting a long time. Do you want to keep waiting to join?”

Google Meet still joining call

(Image credit: Google Workspace)

“Now, when you’re the only person in a meeting for five minutes, you’ll receive a prompt asking whether you want to stay or leave the meeting,” the official Google Workspace update blog for the feature noted. “If you don’t respond after two minutes, you will automatically leave the meeting.”

Google says that it also hopes the feature will help prevent situations where your audio or video is unintentionally shared, so no-one should be able to eavesdrop on you just in case you do start up a call accidentally.

The feature is available for Google Meet on desktop and iOS devices to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers and users with personal Google accounts now, with an Android launch also scheduled “soon”.

Read more

> Google Meet aims to tear down the language barrier

> Google Calendar update will stop meetings clogging up your day

> Massive Google Workspace update dials up the fight for hybrid working supremacy

The Host management menu updates are available for all Google Workspace users now, and can now be found under the “Host Controls” button located in the bottom bar in a Google Meet call. 

The update is only for desktop versions of Google Meet, where the company says host and co-host controls are currently spread across multiple locations.

“We hope this change makes it easier to manage your meeting settings by reducing the need to switch between various menus,” the company said.

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PC doesn’t meet Windows 11 requirements? There’s a tool to fix that
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Got a PC that fails the Windows 11 system requirements? Thanks to an unofficial tool, you can create a Windows 11 image that will bypass the TPM system requirements that Microsoft set, enabling your ineligible PC to upgrade to the operating system.

Since Windows 11 was announced in June 2021, Microsoft was adamant that all PCs would have to meet its system requirements, such as enabling TPM, in order for the update to be eligible.

But according to Windows Latest, the Rufus tool will allow you to create a bootable USB drive thanks to an official Windows 11 image file, with checks in place that will allow your PC to bypass the system requirements.

But with this much power in one tool, we don't actually recommend using this to upgrade your PC to Windows 11 for now, unless you're certain you know what you're doing, and what the risks are.

Analysis: Unforeseen consequences could occur

Windows 11 with Rufus

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Microsoft's communication around explaining the requirements for Windows 11 in 2021 was poor at best, especially when it came to TPM. It also didn't help when its app to check if your PC was eligible to upgrade wasn't accurate in its results.

But there's still a wide pool of users who are on Windows 10 and don't see the need to upgrade their PC to use Windows 11, especially if they use their device for the occasional web browsing or gaming.

While this tool will grant these PCs a path to upgrade, we don't recommend using Rufus. The features that are in Windows 11, alongside what's coming up with its major upgrade, codenamed 'Sun Valley 2', will require some PCs to use more of the CPU, memory, and GPU in order to run the operating system in an efficient way.

This could cause a strain on the hardware, and you could have an incompatible PC running Windows 11 very slowly, to the point where it's an irritation. Microsoft has also made it be known that it will make updating unsupported PCs running Windows 11 difficult in the future, which could lock you out from getting important security fixes.

Perhaps you can use Rufus as a 'trial' for Windows 11, to see what you think of the update before you go all-in on a new PC. But as something to bypass the system requirements, we recommend holding off.

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Brave is now trying to dethrone Microsoft Teams and Google Meet
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Brave Software is rolling out a series of upgrades for its privacy-focused video conferencing service, Brave Talk.

As explained in a new blog post, the headline addition is a new browser extension that allows users to attach Brave Talk links to Google Calendar invitations, in the same way as they might with Google Meet. The idea is to give people a simpler way to integrate Brave Talk into their regular working routine.

Beyond the browser extension, the company has also expanded the free version of its video conferencing service, which now supports unlimited video calls for up to four participants (up from two).

The premium version (costing $ 7/month), meanwhile, has received a number of new business-centric features as part of the update, from breakout rooms to emoji reactions, attendee polls and advanced moderation facilities.

Brave tackles video conferencing

Brave is perhaps best known for its web browser of the same name, which blocks both ads and tracking cookies, but the company is expanding rapidly in new product areas. For example, there’s now a Brave VPN, firewall, crypto wallet, news aggregator and search engine, all of which are said to be optimized for privacy.

Pitched as an alternative to video conferencing services operated by the likes of Microsoft and Google, Brave Talk is another member of this growing portfolio.

“Unlike other video conferencing providers, which can involve collecting and sharing user data without adequate transparency and control, Brave Talk is designed to not share user information or contacts by default,” Brave states.

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“Brave Talk is designed to serve you, not track you, and is designed for unlinkability [whereby there is nothing that links a participant to a call]. This privacy protection carries through to the Google Calendar extension.”

For Google Workspace customers at least, the ability to add a Brave Talk link to a Google Calendar entry with ease will minimize the friction involved in switching service, a crucial factor in accelerating adoption.

The extension of the free service to include unlimited calls for up to four people, meanwhile, will make Brave Talk a perfectly viable option for anyone in need of a video conferencing service for occasional personal use.

The main caveat is that Brave Talk calls can only be hosted by someone that uses the Brave browser, which currently holds a comparatively tiny share of the market. The ability for Brave Talk to challenge the likes of Microsoft and Google in the video conferencing market, then, is tied to whether the company is able to challenge the same two rivals in the browser space too.

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Google Meet wants to try and fix patchy video calls for good
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Identifying the issues behind a sketchy or badly-connecting Google Meet video call could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new update.

The video conferencing platform has introduced a new service that will let admins monitor call quality and single out any issues or bandwidth bottlenecks.

The new Meet quality tool will even allow admins to monitor connections over time, spotting if there are any specific times when bandwidth may be in high demand.

Google Meet bandwidth

In a blog post announcing the new tool, Google notes that the service will monitor both inbound and outbound bandwidth, covering both used and available.

“Surfacing this information helps admins visualize participants bandwidth compared to the quality of a call, making it easier for them to determine where a bandwidth bottleneck could be causing low quality,” the company noted.

Google added that knowing which bitrates are available or being used for specific endpoints can be crucial when performing troubleshooting or working to improve call quality in your domain. However such data was previously only available as an average across entire calls, which can make it difficult to narrow down problems during specific points in time. 

“We hope by surfacing this detailed information, Admins can easily troubleshoot or improve call quality for their users,” it said.

The tool is available by default to all Google Workspace customers now, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.

Read more

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> Best hybrid working tech: Everything you need for a possible return to the office

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The news is the latest in a series of updates as Google looks to ensure its video calling tool stays up to speed with competitors such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

Some of its most recent upgrades include allowing up to 500 participants to join a video call at the same time to make it easier to connect and collaborate with colleagues, clients and customers.

Users can also enable live streaming in Google Meet which will allow up to 100,000 viewers to watch at once.

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Google Meet aims to tear down the language barrier, but falls short
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Google has rolled out an update for video conferencing software Meet that will help workers communicate more effectively with multi-lingual colleagues.

In a blog post, the company announced that its live translation feature has now entered general availability, across all Google Meet platforms.

Launched in beta last year, the feature introduces the ability to translate spoken English into foreign language captions in real-time. At launch, supported languages include French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

Google Meet translation

Among the various opportunities brought about by the transition to remote working is the ability to recruit from an international pool of talent. However, businesses will clearly need a way to address the communication barriers this may create.

At the moment, Google is pitching the translation feature as a way to overcome disparities in language proficiency, rather than a way to facilitate communication between people who do not share a common language.

“Translated captions help make Google Meet video calls more inclusive and collaborative by removing language proficiency barriers. When meeting participants consume content in their preferred language, this helps equalize information sharing, learning, and collaboration and ensures your meetings are as effective as possible for everyone,” explained Google.

However, if the idea is taken to its logical conclusion, it’s easy to imagine the feature being extended in future to support omnidirectional translation between a variety of different languages. This way, workers could communicate freely with colleagues and partners from across the globe.

The feature as it exists today will roll out over the course of the next two weeks, but only to Google Workspace customers that subscribe to the Business Plus plan and beyond.

TechRadar Pro has asked Google whether customers on cheaper plans can expect to receive access to live translation at a later date, and whether the feature will be capable of translating other languages into English in future.

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Google Meet arms hosts with tools to silence disruptive attendees
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Keeping your meetings on track in Google Meet is about to get a whole lot easier as Google has added the ability to lock audio and video in its video conferencing software.

Previously the feature was only available when using Google Meet on a computer but now the company has made it possible for hosts and co-hosts to lock all participants' audio and video from iOS devices.  According to an update in the Google Workspace blog though, Google also plans to make this feature available for Android smartphones early next year.

By giving hosts and co-host the ability to mute all participants' audio and preventing them from using their cameras, it will be easier to keep meetings on track and productive as there will be less disruptions.

Audio Lock & Video Lock

Google Meet's new Audio Lock & Video Lock setting applies to all devices regardless of whether it's set on a computer or an iOS device.

However, when this feature is enabled, mobile participants may be removed from a meeting if their device doesn't have the most recent version of the Meet or Gmail app, Android OS version M or newer or iOS version 12 or newer. Once the feature has been disabled though, these removed participants will be able to rejoin a meeting.

It's also worth noting that this feature is available to all Google Workspace customers as well as all G Suite Basic and Business customers.

While employees, managers and partners are a bit better at quieting down in a meeting, Audio Lock & Video Lock could be particularly useful for teachers and educators conducting remote learning classes using Google Meet.

Looking to improve your video call experience? Check out our roundups of the best video conferencing software, best business webcams and best headsets for conference calls

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