Although most companies are now in full-on work-from-office mode, remote collaborations are still playing an important factor.
That is why many are still utilizing the convenience that video conferencing tools and apps have to offer. Likewise, the remote-work tools are getting better and better every day.
In fact, there is now a tight competition between the available options in the case of bringing the best features for the users. Google Meet has entered into this tight competition by bringing out a feature that most Zoom users love about the platform: the unmute shortcut.
Although the new Google Meet feature is not out yet, you will soon be capable of unmuting yourself by pressing the space bar and releasing it.
It is more the push-to-talk feature that Discord has. Basically, when you are holding the space bar, you will get into the unmute mode, and your mic will get muted when you release it.
This feature will indeed come in handy for the users that frequently forget to mute and unmute themselves. And thanks to this feature, you will not have to worry about getting embarrassed by the background noise getting through all the time and interrupting your business conference.
On that note, this push-to-talk feature is not something exclusive to Zoom. As mentioned earlier, it is present on Discord, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex.
On Discord, however, you will have the option to assign any button you want for the feature. But for Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex, you will need to press Cntrl (Command for Mac) + the space bar.
So, when will the update come out? According to Google, the mute/unmute shortcut update will be available to all of Workspace users on September 9.
What about the others? Well, Google stated that it could take up to 15 days for the feature to come for non-Workspace users.
That said, the feature will not be on by default so you would need to head to the settings of Google Meet and enable it manually.
In case you did not know, the unmute shortcut is not the only upgrade that Google Meet has had. Google has been introducing loads of new features to the platform.
For example, the tech giant announced significant upgrades to the platform at Google I/O 2022 event that took place in May. The notable ones are automatic lighting, de-reverberation, noise-cancellation, and portrait adjustment for the faces.
In fact, recently, the platform introduced the ability to toggle between mute and unmute via third-party hardware such as external mics, headsets, and other USB peripheral devices. It might also be possible to start or end the Google Meet sessions through external hardware in the future.
Slava is a man of mystery and no-one seems to know exactly where he is at any point in time. When he isn't enjoying writing about all things audio and technical he can be found researching his next project of interest. The man never rests.