Google Workspace Getting Started More Smarter With Updates And Design Makeover

Does google workspace getting started more smarter with its updates and design makeover?

Google’s 2021 Year in Review report shows that Google Workspace ended the year with 3 billion users and started 2023 with the same number of users.

According to a report on EarthWeb, there are over 5,300 apps accessible on the platform and 4.8 billion third-party apps installed in Google Workspace marketplace.

At 2022 Cloud Next, Google announced new canvas features that users will easily spot once they’re available.

Unveiled in May 2021, Smart Canvas has been praised as a next-generation collaboration tool to mitigate digital fatigue.

For companies looking to grow and succeed, using Google Workspace is one of the best ways to improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Keep reading to understand how Google Workspace is getting smarter with new updates and a design makeover.

How Google Workspace Getting Started More Smarter With Updates?

Updates for Smart Canvas

Smart Canvas features include AI-powered cameras, automatic transcriptions, emoji reactions, pageless mode, meeting room check-in, speaker spotlight in Slide, and companion mode mobile.

Updates expected in Smart Canvas are document emoji voting, document stopwatch, Google Sheets date shortcuts, document calendar invite template, and smart chips placement on chips.

Each update enhances the experience of users when working on different apps. For example, Google Sheets’ date shortcuts allow you and your team to type @today, @tomorrow, or @date to insert dates to Sheets directly.

With document stopwatch you can start, reset, and stop timers in documents.

More Google Drive Updates

Google Drive has appealing features, such as easy user interface, work offline mode, compatibility with MS Word and Excel, storage space for videos, PDF, and presentations, and SSL encryption.

Not to mention users can also check folder size in Google Drive, so they can organize their Drive’s storage and determine if they need more storage space.

To see your folders’ storage capacity, open Google Drive and choose the gear icon on the top right corner.

Go to settings and click view items taking up storage.

To enhance the users’ experience, Google has introduced new updates for Drive to simplify file sharing, downloading, and deleting multiple files at once.

Google is also adding a multi-select feature that allows bulk operations like sharing, moving, downloading, and deleting.

Users can also hover over files to see important actions like edit, share, and download using the row action.

Workspace Product Design Makeover

Google plans to redesign the look of Google Workspace popular products like Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive using the dynamic color and components of Material Design 3. Developed by the online search giant, this system allows teams to create high-quality digital experiences for iOS, Android, Flutter, and the web. Based on Gmail’s refreshed appearance, it’s easy to determine how the new designs for Google Workspace apps will look like.

Google will likely add dark hues to the comments and toolbar to make them stand out from the white page of the document.

Meanwhile, the share button is expected to be more rounded instead of the rounded-corner rectangle shape.

Google also plans to add third-party smart chips that allow users to add third-party apps like Asana, Figma, Tableau, and Atlassian into your documents.

Client-side Encryption Added To Gmail And Calendar

Another interesting feature added to Google Workspace is the client-side encryption.

Although this security feature has been available on Docs, Slides, Drive, Meet, and Sheets, client-side encryption (CSE) will now be  available in Gmail and Calendar.

Client-side encryption in Gmail and calendar gives Google Workspace users an extra layer of protection and helps them meet regulatory compliance requirements.

Google states that client-side encryption simplifies compliance for public organizations and private enterprises.

It also ensures that any third party organization, including Google and foreign governments doesn’t access your confidential data.

Typically, Google encrypts information while at rest or transit.

But client-side encryption goes an extra step to provide Google Workspace customers with unlimited control over their encryption keys and identity providers for those access keys.

During the announcement of client-side encryption expansion, Google explains users can be sure sensitive data sent or received via email or shared on Google meet is encrypted before it reaches its servers.

New Features For Google Docs

G Suite is getting a makeover with new features and an appealing look, with more attention on Google Docs.

Changes expected in Google Docs include the ability to set up a calendar within a document.

The calendar invite template in Docs will make collaboration easier among teams.

Using the updated variable tool, Doc users can also identify a client’s name, contact details or other specific values, then update those details throughout a document when editing.

Besides using the calendar invite template, Google Doc users will soon have the freedom to use emoji to react to comments, emphasize a point, or vote for certain points within a document.

Anyone looking to stay focused for short time frames when editing a document can do so using the stopwatch feature added in the app.

The stopwatch smart chip in the updated Docs version allows you to set, start, and reset your timer depending on how long you want to edit or present a document.

Background Noise Removed From Google Meet Calls

Individuals who use Google Workspace on the phone will now enjoy Google Meet calls without worrying about background noise.

As part of Google Workspace updates, Google is expanding its video conferencing software’s noise cancellation capabilities.

That way, phone users can enjoy peaceful Google Meet calls like they would dialing into a meeting on the desktop.

According to Google, background noise cancellation in Google Meet removes different noises, such as room echo, typing, sounds of a closing door, and noise from nearby construction sites.

By canceling background noises, this technology enables participants in a meeting via Google Meet to focus and hear what the speaker is saying without distractions.

However, Google says it only filters sounds that are not human voices.

If you’re using Google Meet in a room with people talking or nearby a TV or radio, the voice cancellation feature will not filter the voices.

This means you should turn off the noise cancellation feature if you want other sounds like the playing of musical instruments to be heard in your calls.

Google Workspace has gained a lot of traction in the business landscape as it enhances collaboration and productivity in the workplace.

The good news is that Google continues to enhance its functionality.

Recently, Google announced the redesign of smart canvas in Google Workspace and updates that will make the user interface simpler and more streamlined, enabling users to work more efficiently on various apps.

Including these ways Google workspace getting started a new era of technology.

Keep an eye in itphobia.com for more updates of Google and relevant technologies.