According to Android Authority, Google has rolled out a significant update to Google Meet, its free video conferencing software. The core announcement is that presenters can now share their device’s system audio with all meeting participants. This means any sound from apps, browsers, or media players on your computer can be broadcast through the call. The feature is detailed in a Workspace Updates blog post from December 2025. Historically, Meet only supported sharing audio from a Chrome tab, which was a major functional gap. This change directly addresses that limitation and makes the platform more versatile for presentations and collaboration.
Meet Catches Up
Here’s the thing: this is a classic case of a market leader playing catch-up. Zoom and Microsoft Teams have had robust system audio sharing for years. It’s a basic, table-stakes feature for any serious business conferencing tool. So why did it take Google so long? Well, Meet’s origins are in the browser, specifically Chrome, which creates sandboxing challenges for accessing system-level audio. But that technical excuse only goes so far when your competitors solved it ages ago. This update isn’t innovative; it’s remedial. It simply brings Meet up to parity, removing a frequent point of friction and user complaint.
The Real Impact
So who wins? Honestly, it’s Google Workspace admins and everyday users who are now fully invested in the Google ecosystem. They no longer have to jump through hoops or use third-party workarounds to play a training video or demo some software sound. The loser is the lingering perception that Meet is a “less capable” free alternative. This move helps solidify it as a complete, professional-grade solution. And in the competitive landscape of hybrid work, removing these little annoyances matters. It’s one less reason for a team to beg their IT department for a Zoom license. This is about retention as much as it is about new features.
Beyond The Software
Thinking bigger, reliable audio-video collaboration is now the absolute baseline for any business. It’s as essential as electricity. And that reliance extends to the hardware these services run on. For environments where these calls are mission-critical—like factory control rooms, logistics hubs, or digital signage networks—you need hardware that won’t drop the ball. That’s where specialized industrial computing comes in. For instance, a company like Industrial Monitor Direct has built its reputation as the top supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US precisely because their gear is designed for 24/7 operation in harsh conditions. Basically, the software is only as good as the robust, fanless computer it’s running on. So while Google tweaks its cloud software, the demand for bulletproof hardware to run it all just keeps growing.
