Google Meet, free premium features until September 30th

Google Meet updates with new features and extends the use of premium features to all up to 30 September

Driven by the boom in smart working and e-learning imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, and taking advantage of the moment of difficulty of Zoom Meetings which has proven to be inadequate for the role regarding security and privacy, Google Meet is today having the success that his ancestor, Google Hangouts, deserved (available only for business users today).

Google knows and is also taking advantage of it, trying to stimulate the adoption of its platform for video calls and video conferences knowing that the right time is now: in a few weeks many people will return to work and see each other physically. The same thing, it must be said, is being done by Microsoft with Teams, another platform that exploded due to the pandemic. Google has decided to pamper (and attract) users by offering some premium features available in the paid version of Meet to everyone for free. It will not be forever, but not for a short time: until 30 September 2020.

Google Meet: new features for free

The first premium feature offered for free by Google Meet is perhaps also the one most requested by users: the ability to view multiple people connected at the same time. There are now 16 participants in the video call who can be viewed on the same screen. This changes from a new graphical interface and, as usual, has only one real and big limit: the connection to the Internet. If it is good, for all participants, then all video streams will be handled correctly and smoothly. Otherwise, some windows will stop. Other upcoming premium features include an improved audio-video compression algorithm to remove background noise and lighten data flow and integration with Gmail: it is now possible to launch a video call to one of our contacts directly from the e-mail client.

Google Meet: between Zoom and Hangouts

Many see the ability to view up to 16 people simultaneously on Meet as an attempt by Google to attract former Zoom users. Maybe it is, but in reality, all platforms of this type are adding similar functionality. Google Hangouts, which is now a professional paid platform, allows you to hold meetings of up to 250 participants and register them on Google Drive. This is a purely business feature, for which many are willing to pay, but already in 2013, the first Hangouts (the free one and connected to the deceased social Google+ allowed you to record meetings live on your YouTube channel. So what Google offers today is nothing but what it experienced (failing) many years ago.