Google Cloud has rebranded its ‘G Suite' of office apps as ‘Google Workspace’ and added a number of new features with a view to further integrating the product experience. After unifying Google Chat, Gmail and Google Meet earlier this year, the company said users will shortly see new four-colour icons for Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet, Docs, Sheets and Slides that resemble the same family. “Google Workspace gives people a familiar, fully integrated user experience that helps everyone succeed in this new reality,” commented the VP in charge of Google Workspace, Javier Soltero, adding that the redesign marks “the end of the 'office' as we know it".
New features already available include “linked previews” in Docs, Sheets and Slides that allow users to preview the content of a link without leaving the original document and “smart chips” in the same apps, displays that pop up and show contact details or suggest actions when someone is mentioned in a document. The company will also be introducing the ability to create a document directly from a chat window within Google Workspace or to start a video call from within a presentation in Docs, Sheets and Slides (“meet picture-in-picture”) in the coming weeks or months.
The cheapest Google Workplace Business Starter plan starts at USD 6 per month, rising to USD 12 per month for the Business Standard plan and USD 18 per user per month for the newly-introduced Business Plus plan with more mobile device management features and compliance tools such as Vault.
