Google announced Tuesday that G Suite was getting an upgrade and as part of the changes, Gmail is getting a new logo. The collection of computing, productivity and collaboration tools, is going to be known as Google Workspace going forward — and that comes with a new user experience too.
G Suite first launched as Google Apps for Your Domain back in 2006. Its most current iteration comprises of a large collection of cloud-based software, that several people use on a daily basis, including Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar and Meet. The latter of which is a video-conferencing app that's become a popular way to stay in contact with friends and family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
G Suite has now been rebranded as Google Workspace, with a focus on business users. Kelly Waldher, Google's vice-president of marketing for Google Workspace, wrote in a blog post that the new interface brings together chat, email, voice and video calling together in one place to make things easier for users. First available to paying customers only, the newly redesigned apps suite offers new features, such as being able to create and collaborate on a Google doc together in a Chat room and video conference each other at the same time.
New Look, New Services
The rebrand also comes with a new look. The former G Suites apps, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Chat and so on, will be getting new four-color icons to highlight the new service. Google Workspace will also offer its customers tailored installs of the software suite, so whether they are running small businesses or multinational companies, they can get the right version for them. Obviously, the price will vary depending on the complexity of the Google Workspace implementation and how much support will be needed.
The one-place for everything is by far the most appealing aspect of this update. Google had announced back in July it was bringing a Meet picture-in-picture feature to Gmail and Chat so customers can see and talk to the people they're collaborating with. Now, Google has announced that PIP is also being rolled out to Docs, Slides and Sheets too. This is a logical improvement to the G Suite setup, where everyone would have to be doing everything in separate browser tabs or windows. While it's probably not worth casual users shelling out the money, a free version of Google Workspace is due to roll out in a few months. For those who wish to try Google Workspace right away, a free trial can be signed up for on Google's site.
Source: Google