Google Meet To Get Major Upgrade In Coming Weeks To Take On Zoom

Remote working is a big thing nowadays and may continue well after the COVID-19 era. One of the biggest winners so far has been Zoom video conferencing tool. But the platform has taken major hits on the security front for not being prepared to meet up with demand. But Google Meet which provides the same service but hasn’t caught up with the times as much now looks like it is ready to step up to the challenge.

Reuters reported this week that Google Meet will get a major facelift over the next few weeks. They are updating the service to allow users access it directly from Gmail for businesses and education purposes. Just like in Zoom where you can see up to 25 participants in a gallery format, Google Meet will offer the same thing for up to 16 participant display at a given time.

There’s as of now a Chrome extension that can already do what Zoom does according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings but there may be no need to install this extension once Meet is officially updated to reflect these changes. Reuters reports that in addition, Meet will improve video quality in dim lighting and filtering of background noise, such as keyboard clicks and slamming doors. There will also be a feature that will allow you leave a tab open in Chrome for Meet display.

You're missing the chrome extension that does the 25 people on Hangouts Meet. (a temporary hack)

— Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) April 16, 2020

In light of some of the privacy and security  concerns whish has prompted some organisations including some schools to now ban the use of it, Meet by Google may now be looking to fill that void especially with integration into Gmail.