Similar to last year, Google Workspace has a presence at I/O 2022 and used it to announce features across Meet and Chat, as well as Docs.
Google’s video conferencing service already supports screen sharing, but new “live sharing” allows third-party developers to directly build Meet experiences into their app. For example, this essentially lets you share your screen to watch YouTube videos, with those on the call visible as a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window in the corner. This works on Android, iOS, and Chromecast.
Watch videos with others in real time
You can invite everyone to move your call to YouTube so you can watch videos together
- Co-Watching—Syncs streaming app content across devices in real time, and allows users to take turns sharing videos and playing the latest hits from their favorite artist. This allows for users to share controls such as starting and pausing a video, or selecting new content in the app.
- Co-Doing—Syncs arbitrary app content, allowing users to get together to perform an activity like playing video games or follow the same workout regime.
Like in Docs, auto-generated summaries are coming to Google Chat (specifically group Spaces), while Meet is getting studio-quality lighting in the future. Google will also filter out echoes when you’re calling from basements, kitchens, and other large or empty spaces. Lastly, automated meeting transcriptions of video calls are coming to Docs.
Other Workspace news at I/O 2022 sees Google bring Gmail’s phishing and malware warnings to Docs, Sheets, and Slides for suspicious links.