Whether you’re new to video conferencing with Google or are familiar with the outgoing Google Hangouts, the Hangouts Meet experience provides a streamlined way to connect with people on campus or around the globe.
Just like with Classic Hangouts, you can have up to 25 people join your conference. If you subscribe to member tiers, this limit can be extended to 50 or 100 people based on your plan. Using Meet, you can start a new meeting or join an event already in progress by entering a meeting code.
You can add video chat to your Google Calendar events by opening your event details, clicking “add conferencing” and selecting “Hangouts Meet”. Then, all attendees join the conference by clicking the link included in the meeting invitation or by dialling in the number provided.
Hangouts Meet also provides options for muting and unmuting your microphone and video as well as leaving the call. Plus, there is option to change your default microphone and camera and play a test sound.
The Hangouts Meet app is available for iOS and Android, which means you can take the conference using your smartphone or tablet.
It was revealed yesterday that Google intended to merge several of its corporate-facing items into yet another messaging service to take on Slack and today one of those products is being updated with a new feature. Hangouts Meet has now got the ability to use different audio and video sources.
In particular, Google now lets you use your phone as a microphone during meetings, while the video is managed by the computer. This may seem to be a small change, but in certain use cases and environments, it is bound to be appreciated. Although single users may not see much of a gain on a laptop or their PC, it may be useful in group meetings where moving around a laptop is uncomfortable. Impromptu interviews could also be a bit simpler with a phone kept on the table, instead of trying to hook up a remote microphone.
The functionality will begin rolling out for Rapid Release domains as of today, with Scheduled Release picking it up starting February 12. It is a 15-day rollout in both situations. A note to admins of G Suite: If the dial-in functionality is available, this feature is switched on by default and this can turn off by going to settings options.
