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Google Rooms is now Spaces, and it's integrated into all of your favorite apps
Live for all Workspace users starting today
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Google rebranded G Suite into Workspace last fall, bringing along new icons and some fresh features to help keep users working from home organized and in control of meetings, emails, calendars, and more. Today, Google announced some major changes for Workspace, including an individual plan for small businesses, an introduction to Spaces, and new RSVP options in Calendar — and it's making it available to everyone.
Gmail makes it easier to ignore Chat with new sidebar controls
Customizable sizing choices are always appreciated
Gmail is one of Google's most widely used products, which means the company likes to cram a lot of integrations with its other tools into it. Last year, a redesigned interface showed up for G Suite customers with support for Chat and Rooms sections in the sidebar. Now Google is rolling out an update that lets users resize these sections to suit their needs.
Facebook simplifies Messenger Rooms management and introduces custom backgrounds
Messenger's virtual party service just got better
Messenger Rooms is Facebook's approach to online video-conferencing, though it's definitely targeted towards casual hangouts much more than business meetings. The service makes it easy to create video meetups with people who aren't necessarily in your friend list while keeping the group's creator in control. After coming to WhatsApp and Facebook's Portal screens, the company has announced that it will enhance the group calling feature in its Messenger apps with improvements to Room creation and discoverability. The developers are also working on custom backgrounds.
G Suite accounts are slowly getting new Gmail experience with bundled chat, video, and files
Going after Slack and MS Teams, but is it trying to do too much?
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A month ago, Google announced that it would turn Gmail for G Suite into a hub encompassing all of Google's productivity platforms, with access to videoconferencing, chats, Docs, and more collaboration tools. The company is now ready to roll out this experience to the web and Android. It's expected to hit all domains with Chat preferred enabled by September 15.
Leaked Gmail redesign outs plans to integrate Docs, Chat, and Meet
It looks set to become a one-stop shop for G Suite's productivity and collaboration tools
Google has only recently announced that it was integrating its video-conferencing service Meet with the Gmail app, a move that was met with some criticism. As it turns out, the introduction of the Meet tab was only the beginning of a transformation. Developer Tahin Rahman found slides from Google's upcoming Cloud Next '20 event that show how the company is looking to turn the Gmail app and website into a one-stop productivity hub, with Meet, Chat, Docs, and Rooms built right into the service.