Google Workspace Changes

Increased participant limits for Hangouts Meet meetings across G Suite editions.

Google has increased the maximum participant limits for Hangouts Meet meetings. G Suite Enterprise users can now host up to 250 participants, G Suite Business users up to 150, and G Suite Basic users up to 100. These limits apply to a combination of video and dial-in participants.

Material Design update for Hangouts Meet on the web.

Google Meet is receiving a visual refresh on the web to implement Material Design. While functionality remains unchanged, users will see visual improvements including updated, highly-legible custom Google fonts, consistent controls for buttons, dialogs, and sidebars, and updated iconography and colors for better legibility.

International dial-in phone numbers for Hangouts Meet are now available for G Suite Business, Basic, and Enterprise for Education.

Google is extending the functionality of international Hangouts Meet dial-in phone numbers to new meetings organized by G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite Basic domains. This feature is fully available for both Rapid and Scheduled release domains, although Cyprus (CY) and Turkey (TR) are not supported for G Suite Business and G Suite Basic.

Updated 'What’s new in G Suite?' Help Center article with filterable and searchable launch lists.

Google has updated the 'What’s new in G Suite?' Help Center article to include a comprehensive list of all G Suite launches from the past six months. The updated article allows users to filter by product or search by keyword to easily find and learn about specific updates.

Directly click on chart elements to move and delete them in Google Sheets

Google Sheets has introduced new features allowing users to easily customize charts by clicking directly on data labels, chart titles, or legends to drag and reposition them, or delete them using the delete or backspace keys. Additionally, the update includes keyboard navigation support (using Tab, Enter, Escape, and Arrow keys) and screen reader verbalization for chart elements to improve accessibility.

Customize text size and position for captions in Google Slides

Users can now personalize the text size and position of captions while presenting in Google Slides. This allows presenters to make captions easier to read for audience members in large rooms or reduce the text size to maximize the number of words visible on the screen at once.

Goal Seek add-on now available for Google Sheets

The Goal Seek add-on for Google Sheets is now available for download and installation from the G Suite Marketplace. This tool allows users to calculate the required value of a cell to achieve a desired value in another cell, which is particularly useful for conducting break-even analysis or sensitivity calculations.

Admins can now view Cloud Search usage information via charts in the Admin console and using the Stats API.

Previously, admins only had limited visibility into the usage of Cloud Search within their domains. Now, they have greater insight into things like how often applications are being used and whether all the content they need indexed is accessible.

Material redesign for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android apps

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android apps have received a visual update as part of a Material redesign. While functionality remains the same, users will see visual improvements including a restyled document list, highly-legible typefaces, consistent controls, and updated iconography to bring consistency and ease-of-use to G Suite apps.

Google Device Policy app ending support for iOS 9.0

The Google Device Policy app will no longer support mobile devices running iOS version 9.0 or lower after the end of 2019. Users with advanced mobile device management (MDM) enabled must upgrade to iOS version 10.0 or higher to access new MDM features or to download the Device Policy app for the first time. Support will be officially removed in the first release of the app in 2020.

Dark theme is now available for Google Voice on Android.

Google Voice now supports Dark theme on Android devices to improve the viewing experience in low-light conditions and preserve battery life. The app can automatically respect the Android system's dark theme settings or be manually enabled through the app's display options.

Google Voice auto attendants now support voicemail setup.

Admins can now configure voicemail for Google Voice auto attendants in three different ways: sending incoming calls directly to voicemail, routing calls to voicemail when a caller presses a specific key, or sending calls to voicemail during non-business hours. Additionally, admins can record a custom message to play for callers before they are sent to voicemail.

Google Voice admins can now batch import desk phone information using Google Sheets.

Google Voice admins can now batch import desk phone information using Google Sheets, making it faster to add multiple desk phones at once. Previously, admins could only add a single desk phone at a time.

Updated layout and navigation for Hangouts Chat mobile apps on Android and iOS.

Google has updated the Hangouts Chat mobile apps for Android and iOS to improve organization. The previous single list of People, Rooms, and Bots has been replaced by two distinct tabs: 'People' (which now includes bots) and 'Rooms'. Additionally, the top filter has been removed to simplify navigation, with users encouraged to use the search icon or the '+' button to start conversations.

Transformation reports are now available for G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education Super Admins in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Google for Education transformation reports are now generally available for Super Admins of G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education in K-12 districts and schools across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Admins can log in to generate a Fall 2019 report by completing a survey and gathering stakeholder feedback between September 23 and October 9, with the final custom report available for download on October 14.