Google Meet passes major user milestone

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The global demand for video conferencing services shows little sign of slowing down after Google Meet passed 50 million users.

The milestone represents a 900% growth in user numbers in recent months, with Google Meet reaching five million downloads at the beginning of March.

The service has benefited hugely from the growth in video call software following global lockdown to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Google Meet downloads

Google Meet became free for anyone with a Google account earlier this month, letting users make video calls with up to 100 participants without paying a penny.

Previously, Google Meet was only available to businesses with a premium G-Suite account, but last month the company announced that it would be doing away with the charges and opening it up to everyone for free.

Calls are currently limited to one hour, but Google won't start enforcing this rule until September 30 - meaning users could chat for up to 24 hours if they so wanted.

Users can invite up to 100 people to join a meeting, which brings the service up to the level of competitors such as Zoom, with Google Meet also recently introducing a number of new features aimed at helping the service recruit new users.

Google has revealed it has now added four new features to its video conferencing software, including a tiled gallery view, low-light mode, noise cancellation, and an ability to present via a single chrome tab instead of the entire computer screen.

The addition of a Zoom-esque tiled-layout allows users to see all participants on the screen at once.

In order to combat the peril of background noise, Google Meet can filter out the noise of keystrokes or dogs barking outside. Additionally, meeting presenters will now have an option to just present a single chrome tab rather than sharing their entire computer screen during a meeting. This feature will be helpful for presenters who want to share a high-quality video, which had often been an unpredictable experience.

Google Meet is also able to leverage Google’s AI prowess to improve video quality in case the lighting is not sufficient.

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Via Android Police

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.