Google unveils new improvement of Hand Raise feature in Google Meet

Just this month of June 2021, Google released another new update or feature in their online video conferencing/ meeting app, Google Meet. 

One of the improvements is the Hand Raise in Google Meet, including automatic hand lowering, better notifications, and more.

According to Google, the purpose of the improvement of the hand raise feature in Meet is that it will easier to notice and address raised hands. Specifically, the users may notice:

• An updated and improved visual icon and animation on the video tile
• The tiles of people with raised hands may be moved to be more visible in the video grid
• An audio notification for all participants when the first raised hand is raised
• A clickable notification which shows the number of raised hands and which links to an ordered queue of all participants with raised hands
• That a participant’s hand will be automatically lowered after they speak

The new improvement will be on by default in both the Admins and End users. It means that there is no control on both the admin and end user.

Rollout pace
Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 16, 2021.
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 30, 2021.

Availability
Available in meetings organized by users with Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Business customers
Not available in meetings organized by users with Google Workspace Business Starter, as well as G Suite Basic customers. Not available to users with personal Google Accounts