Google recently announced a new feature that it has decided to introduce. People can now use their smart display for group video calls. During this pandemic situation, Covid-19 has enforced people to stay indoors and maintain social distancing as much as possible. Henceforth, video conferencing apps like Zoom, Google Duo have the spotlight on them. During these tough times, when a loving touch is forbidden, people are using video conferencing apps to stay in contact with their near and dear ones.
What does this new feature do?
According to this brand new feature, people can now ask Google Assistant to start a video call for them. All they have to do is say, “Hey Google, make a group video call ” and that’s it. You can avail of this feature from the smart display of your Google Home App. However, you cannot form groups beforehand and save them here. For that, you’ll have to use Google Duo, where you can make groups of 32 and ask Google to start a video call with whichever group of your choice. The new video call features will be available on Nest Hub Max and other devices supporting smart assistants.
Larger groups on Google Meet
Yes, Google Meet has enabled group calls that can have 100 participants in one session. All you have to do is say, “Hey Google, join my next meeting” and Google will look up your calendars and fish out the details. Provided that you have a G Suite account, it has an option to grant beta access to smart assistants. Google Assistant will henceforth pull out your calendar of events and proceed to dial the group members scheduled for the upcoming meeting.
If you do not have a meeting scheduled, all you have to do is say “Hey Google, join a meeting.”
A dialogue box will pop on your smart display asking you to enter the meeting code. Keep in mind that you cannot say the code into the microphone, you’ll have to type it instead. Once you have entered the code, Google Assistant will proceed to connect the video conference to the said members.
This meeting feature has been created explicitly for official meetings or large groups.
Steps to Call Your Smart Display:
- Make sure that you have Google Assistant on the said device.
- Connect Google Assistant to Google Duo
- Ensure that you’re using the same Google account on both Google and on Smart Display
- Start a conversation and say “Video call [smart display name] or “Video call home.”
Upcoming features :
Rumors have it that smart displays and speakers are going to have a voice-integrated speed dial feature soon. It lets you pin preferred contacts, and dials them whenever you ask it to with the help of voice. All you need to do is say the name, and the said person’s phone will be ringing.
It’s undoubtedly true that Google rolled out these features to bring people separated by miles, closer. And now that we are all locked up in our homes, craving to meet our loved ones, this feature only acts as a plus. At a time when touching any surface without precaution isn’t advisable, hands-free technology is emerging as a shining star.
