Meet is a New Way to Hold a Video Conference
If you’re looking for a way to hold a video conference, Meet might be the tool for you. The app is built on Google’s secure global network and has been designed for large-scale meetings. You can use Meet with your organization’s Workspace, Essentials, or for education accounts. In addition to built-in protection and encryption in transit, this service includes anti-abuse features. It also lets you add up to 25 participants to a meeting.
Meet’s release comes at a time when Google is refocusing its Hangouts product. In January, Google shut down its Hangouts API and shifted its focus to enterprise use cases. At the same time, the company bought the startup Limes Audio to improve voice quality on the Hangouts platform. In April 2020, Meet was the most popular business video calling app in the U.S. and Ireland. While this development is exciting for enterprise users, it may not be for everyone.
Meet is a team-friendly version of Hangouts that Google quietly announced in September. When Meet was first released, the app had no branding. Today, Meet is available in the iTunes App Store, and it has a growth rate of 300% during the COVID-19 pandemic. The app is already among the top-ranking apps in the business category. The iOS version has more than 100 million users, while Zoom’s usage is over 200 million.
The company has a long-term strategy for Hangouts and Meet’s launch makes sense. The service is a team-friendly version of Google Hangouts, and it’s free to download and use. A 60-minute limit applies to video calls, though it’s unclear how this will be enforced. The app also features a number of privacy and security features. The first is a tamper-resistant video chat option, and the second is a consumer-oriented video calling app with up to 30 participants. This one is a direct competitor of Zoom, but it’s still a work in progress, but it’s worth trying out for business and entertainment.
When it comes to meeting rooms and spaces, Meet uses hardware that connects to your Google account. Its Android, iOS, and web apps are the only platforms that work with Meet. Its iOS app is more like a Hangout for business than it is a consumer-oriented video calling app, but it offers video calling for up to 30 participants. It acts as a Zoom rival and is also a business-friendly version of the service.
Meet has been available in beta for a year now, but until recently was only available to invite businesses. The app was not branded as such, but it was made to be a team-friendly version of Hangouts. The company has not responded to requests for comment, but it has pulled the Meet app from its app stores in the U.S. and Ireland. Its iOS app was launched yesterday. There are more than a few differences between the two, but you can still use both.