Google Meet is updating to include a Zoom-like gallery view, although Zoom still shows more participants than Meet does now.

While you were only able to see four people at a time before, Meet has ushered in a new tiled layout, allowing you to see 16 call participants at once. The new feature, which was announced earlier this month, will go live “gradually” across the world from 22 April, according to Google. The Verge said the feature should be available to everyone by the end of April. 

Keep in mind it’s possible to see up to 49 people at once on Zoom (if your machine can handle the load).

How to start a video meeting from Meet

  1. Go to Meet in a web browser.
  2. Click Join or start a meeting.
  3. To create a nickname for your meeting, enter a nickname. 
  4. Click Continue.
  5. Click Join now.
  6. To add someone to a meeting, choose an option: Click Copy joining info and paste the meeting details into an email or another app, or click Add people, then select a name or enter an email address, and click Send invite.
  7. Under the Call section, enter a phone number and press Call.

Google Meet is also updating so that it will have improved video quality in dim lighting, the ability to filter out background noise, and the option for users to present a single Chrome tab. The latter feature is rolling out now, while the low-light mode is live for mobile users now and will come to the web sometime “in the future.” Noise cancellation is also arriving soon.

It will be available to G Suite Enterprise and G Suite Enterprise for Education users on the web in the coming weeks followed by mobile users.

Google said it's also extending some premium Meet features so that they'll be free to access until 30 September.