As Google continues to integrate its Duo and Meet video communications applications, the company today announced the addition of new Apple SharePlay-like live-sharing features to Meet, making it simpler for call participants to interact with material in real time.
The new Google Meet features let you co-watch recordings on YouTube or curate a playlist on Spotify. Beyond satisfied utilization, you can also play games with like Heads Up!, UNO! Portable, or Kahoot! with other room participants.
These features were declared as being exclusive to Samsung devices at the beginning of this year. These new capabilities will be accessible via the three-dot menu under a new Activities tab, which will also include Q&A and polling choices.
Google took the next step in integrating the two video calling applications last week, changing the Duo icon and renaming it Google Meet. Google Meet will now be known as “Google Meet (original),” and will have a green symbol – yep, it’s all very confusing. Other new features added to Meet by Google include quick and scheduled meetings, in-meeting chat, and virtual backdrops.
Users may then begin a shared activity – for example, if they wish to listen to a Spotify track together, they can press the Spotify symbol, and Meet will take them to the Spotify app, where they can join a group session. Notably, the group session function, which supports two to five individuals, is only available to Spotify Premium subscribers.
For example, on Spotify, you may “listen to music with others in real time” by inviting them to “transfer your call to Spotify.” This entails launching a pilot group session for Spotify Premium customers.
The inclusion of live sharing in Google Meet reflects Duo’s origins as a fun, consumer-facing tool.
Meanwhile, Google has updated the Duo-to-Meet app name and icon transition. On mobile and tablets, it appears that the rebranding will be completed by the end of this month. Google says it will “continue to invest in introducing new capabilities to Google Meet to help people connect, collaborate, and share experiences on any device, at home, school, and work” in the future.
