Google is integrating the Meet and Duo applications in an unnecessarily complicated process, and now it’s tossing a Zoom-like function into the mix. The business revealed on the Google Workspace blog that Google Meet will soon allow you to unmute yourself by holding down the spacebar and mute yourself again by releasing it.
If you use Zoom frequently, this feature may sound similar to its push-to-talk feature — and that’s because it is. Zoom has had the option since at least 2020, and it’s useful when you want to speak out during a meeting but don’t want to be unmuted for too long.
Google said it will begin distributing its own version of the shortcut to all Workspace users on September 9th, but it could take up to 15 days. When it arrives, it will not be enabled by default, so you must enable it using Google Meet’s settings.
Google’s efforts to unify Duo and Meet have resulted in three apps: the new Meet app (which combines both Duo and Meet), the old Meet (Original) app, and a Duo shortcut that links to Meet. It’s certainly something that only Google could come up with. That said, I’m very confident the new push-to-talk feature will be available in the new Google Meet app, but it’s unclear whether it will be available in the Meet (Original) app, as Google will eventually abandon it.
