Back in October, G Suite became Google Workspace for enterprise and later education, as well as nonprofit, customers. Google Workspace is now available “for everyone,” meaning that regular users with free accounts can access a more integrated productivity experience that merges Gmail, Chat, and Meet.
The company imagines regular people using Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Meet Docs, Sheets, and Slides to “stay connected, get organized, and achieve more together.” Specific examples of this could involve “advancing a cause, planning your family reunion, assigning next steps for the PTA, or discussing this month’s book club pick.”
Starting today (though it technically went live in April for consumer accounts), you can get the integrated Workspace experience — which is primarily accessed through Gmail — by turning on Google Chat, which disables classic Hangouts. Full instructions on enabling that are available here.
Google today also announced that “Rooms” are becoming “Spaces,” a product name that the company previously used. This evolution comes with a “streamlined and flexible user interface that helps you stay on top of everything that’s important” and will occur over the summer.
Powered by new features like in-line topic threading, presence indicators, custom statuses, expressive reactions, and a collapsible view, Spaces will seamlessly integrate with your files and tasks, becoming your new home in Google Workspace for getting more done — together.
As part of today’s launch, a new “Google Workspace Individual” subscription tier was also unveiled. It includes “premium capabilities” like smart appointment booking in Calendar, premium video meeting features that allow for longer calls, and personalized newsletter/email marketing. Additional capabilities are coming soon. This is aimed at very small, if not one-person, businesses that often use an @gmail.com address for work purposes.
Workspace Individual was created to help people focus their time on doing what they love — like meeting with customers and designing personalized services — and less time on everyday tasks like scheduling appointments and emailing customers