Google Meet will now filter out echos from your video calls

Google Meet introduced noise cancellation exactly a year ago to many Google Workspace customers to use on their desktops or laptops. It helped in situations where background noise was an issue: particularly when working remotely. Shortly after, Google expanded noise cancellation to work on Meet hardware devices, so users in corporate settings could take advantage of this feature in conference rooms and the like. Now, Google is once again expanding this technology by introducing de-reverberation in Google Meet calls.

Google explains that “de-reverberation will automatically filter out echoes created by spaces with hard surfaces, such as a basement or a kitchen.” This, on top of the existing noise cancellation feature, will ensure that users get the best audio quality when participating in video calls. The feature should be available right away to all the below eligible tiers of Google Workspace customers:

Availability:

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• Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning upgrade, and Frontline customers
• Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

This will be a very helpful feature not just for those working remotely but also in conference rooms with high ceilings and little-to-no sound treatment. However, it is unfortunate that neither noise cancellation nor the new de-reverberation will be available to the lower-cost tiers of Workspace or personal Google accounts. It sounds like Google wants to keep this a premium feature, at least for now.