Google Meet now lets enterprise users make direct calls | Tech

While “Google Meet” replaced Duo last year, call functionality is still technically split between legacy features for personal users and enterprise. Now, Workspace users can make direct calls too.

While personal users can place direct 1:1 calls, enterprise Workspace customers can’t. Starting a meeting still involves generating a meeting link and then sharing via calendar invite, chat, or email.

That is now changing with the ability to make “cloud-encrypted 1:1 video calls to other users in your organization.” This will let you “place a Meet call on your mobile app directly to a colleague, ringing their mobile device,” just like personal users already can.

These calls include in-meeting chat, virtual backgrounds, visual effects, live closed captions, and more features “depending on your Workspace edition.” While this is similar to Duo, functionality like group calls, messages, moments, family mode, and knock knock aren’t available.

As part of this, the Google Meet app is getting a slight redesign. The account avatar/switcher is no longer part of the search, while that bar now has a new “Code” shortcut.

Meanwhile, there’s a new “Start a call” screen that’s much nicer than the current one. You search for contacts or dial at the top, with big shortcuts to “Create link” and “Schedule.” Below that is a grid of suggestions instead of a long list. Tapping a person takes you to a live preview that lets you adjust your feed before starting the “Call.”

1:1 enterprise calling will be “available to all Google Workspace customers” in the coming weeks for users that have the new app (Android + iOS) with a multi-colored logo instead of the “original” one.

More on Google Meet… read more 9to5google.com