What you need to know
- Google Meet is introducing a new mode to help improve your work calls while on the go.
- The new "One-the-Go" mode features a distraction-free interface with bigger mute/unmute, hand raise, and audio device selection buttons.
- The update rollout has already begun for all Google Workspace and personal account users.
Google Meet is gaining a new simplified mobile experience to attend essential calls on the go that includes instances like while walking or riding in a car or on public transport, basically while in motion. The aim is to create a less distracting experience, detect whether you are in action, and launch the new mode automatically.
In a Workspace post, Google explains how the new meeting experience will keep users focused and save their bandwidth. The new simplified interface will still have the significant features from the regular Google Meet UI, including mute and unmute hand raise and audio device selection — but with larger icons to make it easier to select while on the move.
If a user joins a meeting from a mobile device like an Android phone and Meet detects that they're in motion, users will get the relevant prompt asking whether to continue in the regular mode or hit the new On-the-Go mode. Users are then shown only key information, like the active speaker from the group call, alongside the number of people participating in the call.
Users have to keep in mind that enabling the On-the-Go mode will also turn off their video even if it was enabled before shifting to the new method. Additionally, users will have the option to view presented content.
Google says that the new On-the-Go meeting experience will make it easier for users to focus on their crucial meetings while on the run by cutting down on external distractions and simultaneously saving bandwidth with the audio-only experience on the new mode.
The update rollout has already begun, and the feature will likely be turned on by default for the Google Meet app on Android devices. Further, all Google Workspace customers and those with personal Google account users are eligible to receive the new update.
Meanwhile, Google Meet has been receiving notable updates over the past few months, which includes a new touch-up mode to remove blemishes from the virtual self.
Also, individual Google Meet subscribers gained the ability to have up to 150 participants in a meeting, and more recently, Google has made making 1:1 video calls in the same organization easier. It reduces the steps of creating meeting links' sharing through calendar invites, chat, or email; instead, call directly to their colleague with all Meet features.
