Google Meet web redesign rolling out now with full availability in June

In April, Google announced that Meet on the web was getting a redesign with streamlined bottom bar controls and other changes. It’s now rolling out for the first users and will be available for all in June.

The new layout places key controls in an updated bottom bar that’s always visible so that your mute status is never unclear. Various buttons have also been arranged so that “leave call” is further away from on/off for the camera and microphone to prevent accidents. This design also moves the list of participants, chat, attachments, and sharing to the bottom-right corner for more vertical space.

There’s also the ability to change your video feed from a tile in the grid to a floating picture that can be resized and repositioned, or hidden. Participant names will also be visible, and the tile of someone speaking will be outlined in blue, while you can unpin any pinned content to see more.

This Google Meet web redesign started rolling out on Monday, May 24, to 1% of personal and Workspace accounts (on the rapid release channel) worldwide. It will begin appearing for “scheduled release” enterprise domains on June 1.

Users that have already received it will be able to revert from the “new look and feel” back to the “legacy experience” until June 10 from the pre-call greenroom. A day after, the revamped design will “become the standard experience for all users.”

It will initially be available for desktop users, but will also come to Meet conference rooms in the “coming weeks.” Google does list some known issues today:

1. You might notice some unexpected behavior such as missing video tiles or the captions being cut off. This is caused by 3rd Party Meet extensions and you can read more here about it’s implications and next steps.  
2. Users experiencing a “mirroring effect” when screen sharing: We recommend that you “share a tab” instead of a “window” or “entire screen” for a smooth presenting experience. Additionally, when sharing a tab, make sure that you are sharing the right tab/different tab than your meeting tab.
3. Users on a Windows device  while using a chrome browser might experience flickering on the presented content: A restart of your Chrome browser should assist with the issue.
4. Blue outline is occasionally on a non-speaking participant : A fix for this is on the way and should be live soon. With the new Meet UI, you should now see a blue outline around the active speakers’ tile