Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen a lot of trends rise and fall as people struggled to cope with the stress of quarantine. From families embracing the call of home-baking, to people hoarding toilet roll, some efforts have been more productive than others.
One massive change that’s likely to stand the test of time, however, is video conferencing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, video calls became more than just a necessity for staying connected. Countless companies and individuals discovered that embracing video led them to more meaningful, immersive conversations, with less demand for travel.
Today, Google Assistant and the Nest Hub Max are introducing new ways for people to continue feeling connected through video. Now, if you’d rather not use Duo or Google Meet, you’ll be able to tap into a video meeting through Zoom instead.
Bringing Zoom Meetings to Nest
According to Google, it’s essential for everyone to feel comfortable staying in touch and staying safe. That’s why Zoom will arrive on assistant-enabled smart displayed by the end of the year. Launching a meeting from Google’s Nest Hub Max is easy enough. You can say something like “Hey Google, start a meeting,” and connect with up to 100 people through Google Meet.
Anyone with a Zoom account (paid or free) will be able to join video calls from any Assistant-enabled smart display. Users can even jump from one call to the next by saying “Hey Google, join my next meeting.” What’s more, the Assistant app on iOS and Android makes it easy to invite other people to join a Meet or Zoom group from your smartphone.
If you’ve got a certain set of people you connect with every day, then you can put them on speed dial, with Google’s new feature. Once you set-up your contacts, anyone in your home can say “Hey Google, call [name],” and the system will automatically begin dialing.
Updating Meeting Experiences
Google users will still be able to use tools like Duo to manage their meetings too. For instance, you can create a group in your Duo mobile app, then ask the Hub Max to start the call. If you don’t have time for a full conversation, you can record a video message with a simple voice command too. Alternatively, just send a video message to the Hub Max from your smartphone.
The Google team also announced a new way to connect with people around the house by broadcasting messages to a specific device or room. For instance, you can ask your Hub to broadcast “Dinner is Ready” to your child’s bedroom. Whether you’re trying to improve your work or personal conversations, Google is giving today’s digitally-enabled community more ways to stay in touch.
