Google Workspace Changes

Ability to email all members of a Team Drive.

Google is introducing a feature that allows users to email all members of a Team Drive to improve collaboration. Users can send emails either from the Team Drive's drop-down menu by selecting 'Email members' or from within a file in the Team Drive via the File menu's 'Email Collaborators' option. The tool allows users to customize the recipient list by filtering for members, guests, and specific access levels such as Full, Edit, Comment, and View.

G Suite admins can now manage Android app runtime permissions.

G Suite admins using Google Mobile Management can now control runtime permissions for Android apps on work profiles or company-owned devices. Admins can set a global policy to automatically allow, deny, or prompt users for permissions, and can also configure specific runtime permissions for individual whitelisted apps, which takes priority over the global setting.

Updated 'Can view' permissions for Microsoft Office files to allow viewing of comments.

Google Drive is updating the 'Can view' permission setting for Microsoft Office files. Users with 'Can view' access will now be able to see any comments added to MS Office files after the launch of this change, although they will remain unable to create new comments or reply to existing ones.

Comment on Microsoft Office files, PDFs, and images in Google Drive preview mode.

Google Drive now allows users to comment directly on Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), PDFs, and images within the preview pane without needing to convert them into Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides. This update introduces anchored comments—such as drawing rectangles on PDFs/images or selecting specific text and cells—and supports the importing and exporting of comments to and from the underlying OOXML and PDF files.

Standalone Meet speakermic available for larger rooms.

Google is offering a standalone Meet speakermic for pre-order to improve audio quality in larger rooms. The device reduces echoes and background noise and supports daisy-chaining up to five speakermics together.

New Hangouts Meet room kit available for larger rooms.

A new Hangouts Meet room kit is available for pre-order, designed for larger rooms of up to 20 people. It includes a Logitech PTZ Pro 2 camera with 10x optical zoom and pan-tilt capabilities.

Hangouts Meet hardware expands to the Netherlands and Denmark.

Hangouts Meet hardware is now expanding to two additional countries, the Netherlands and Denmark, bringing the total number of countries where the hardware is available to 14.

Jamboard introduces AI-powered AutoDraw tool.

Google is adding AutoDraw to Jamboard, an AI-powered drawing tool that automatically detects sketches and pairs them with professional images, allowing teams to make their brainstorming sessions more visual.

Jamboard expands availability to eight additional European countries.

Jamboard is expanding its availability to eight additional countries in Europe: Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Spain, and Finland. These markets will be able to purchase Jamboard starting in March 2018.