Notes

February 2017
-After being invite-only and quietly releasing an iOS app in February 2017, Google formally launched Meet in March 2017
• A video conferencing app for up to 30 participants
• Described as an enterprise-friendly version of Hangouts
• Available for desktop, Android, and an iOS.

my script:
"After being invite-only and quietly releasing an iOS app in February 2017, Google formally launched Meet in March 2017. The service was unveiled as a video conferencing app for up to 30 participants, described as an enterprise-friendly version of Hangouts. It was available through applications for desktop, Android, and an iOS."

March 2020
In March 2020, Google rolled out Meet to personal (free) Google accounts.

my script:
"Back then google meet was an invite-only application, but when the pandemic started which was around march 2020 google made it so that google meet can also be used by personal (free) google accounts. Basically anyone with a Google Account can create a video meeting. As long as its a google account, be it personalized or an Education account."

March 2020
In March 2020, Google temporarily extended advanced features present in the enterprise edition to anyone using Google Workspace or G Suite for Education editions. In January 2022, these features were removed for educators and workspace users unless they subscribed.

my script:
"Back then these advanced features which gave you premium security and advanced controls for unlimited users were temporary extended as long as you are using google workspace or g suite for education editions. but then in january 2022 these features were removed unless you are subscribed even if you're using google as an educators or workspace user."

April 2020
-During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of Meet grew by a factor of 30 between January and April 2020, with 100 million users a day accessing Meet, compared to 200 million daily uses for Zoom as of the last week of April 2020.
• Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat were rebranded to Google Meet and Google Chat in April 2020.

my script:
"Back in the pandemic days as the coronavirus spread and more countries issued stay-at-home orders, people flocked to video chat services for work and to check in on family and friends or to use for education purposes. Google saw Meet undergo 30-times growth in the early months of the pandemic; soon enough, the service was hosting up to 100 million meeting participants each day. That's a lot of participants. Around the same time hangouts meet and hangouts chat was rebranded to google meet and google meet chat"

April 2020
In April 2020, Google announced plans to support the AV1 video codec. In February 2021, Google announced a new very low-bitrate codec for speech compression called "Lyra", that can operate with network speeds as low as 3kbps that avoids robotic voice audio. Google trained machine learning models on thousands of hours of data in order to create the method used by Lyra on compression and transmission of voice signals.

my script:
"So basically google created "Lyra" as a high-quality, low-bitrate speech codec that makes voice communication available even on the slowest networks. So it renders clean and clear higher frequencies which makes your voice audible and clean even in the slowest connection so it helps you avoid from having robotic voice audio."

May 2020
In May 2020, Asus unveiled videoconferencing hardware designed for use with Google Meet in conference room settings, which includes a "Meet Compute System" mini PC, and a dedicated camera and microphone.

my script:
"So the new gear includes a small computer that runs the calls, an external speaker, and, depending on which configuration you buy, you can also get a camera and a touch screen. The hardware could be useful for conference rooms in offices that rely on Google Meet as their videoconferencing tool of choice"

August 2020
In August 2020, it was reported that Google was planning to eventually merge Google Duo with the business-oriented Google Meet. In December 2021 this objective had been dropped, but Duo continued to be available and updated. In June 2022, Google reversed course and announced that Duo would, in fact, be merged into Meet. The merger began in August, with the Duo mobile app being renamed Meet. The Google Duo web app now also redirects to the Google Meet web app. The original Meet app is intended to be phased out over the next months.

my script:
*no clue why google meet and google due was merged

September 15, 2020
On September 15, 2020, Google unveiled Meet Series One, in partnership with Lenovo, which includes a Meet Compute System with Edge TPU, "Smart Camera", "Smart Audio Bar" with noise reduction, and a choice of remote control or touchscreen that supports the Google Assistant.

my script:
"So with the partner ship of lenovo, Google developed the Series One as an innovative hardware room kit. Basically its purpose is to have an innovative and immersive meeting experiences that help people feel like they’re working together, not just meeting together."

November 2022
While Google Meet introduced the above features to upgrade the original Hangouts application, some standard Hangouts features were deprecated, including viewing attendees and chat simultaneously. The number of video feeds allowed at one time was also reduced to 8 (while up to 4 feeds can be shown in the "tiles" layout), prioritizing those attendees who most recently used their microphone. Additionally, features such as the chatbox were changed to overlay the video feeds, rather than resizing the latter to fit. In November 2022, Hangouts was officially converted and no longer available. Google suspended its usual 60-minute limit for unpaid accounts.



Late 2022
Google Meet (formerly known as Hangouts Meet) is a video-communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. It replaced the consumer-facing Google Duo in late 2022, with the Duo mobile app being renamed Meet and the original Meet app set to be phased out.