It's been a few years since Google Meet merged with Duo, offering a more unified video calling experience on mobile devices. While the new Google Meet app has a lot of cool features, like augmented reality filters for calls, some basic functions — like the option to invite multiple people to an existing call — can be clunky and not particularly user-friendly.
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Fortunately, it seems that Google is looking to address this issue by introducing an easier way to add contacts to a call that's already in progress. Currently, Google Meet on Android limits the option to invite people to calls that are already in progress. The existing method requires sending a link to the new participant, which they must click to join the meeting. This is different from the desktop, where you can simply type in the person's email to invite them.
However, we have information that Google is working on bringing a similar experience to the web version to the Android app. Experimenting with version 317.0.786350680 of Google Meet for Android, we were able to enable an “Add Others” button, which makes it much easier to add participants.
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We also got a chance to watch the process of adding more people to a Google Meet call. After tapping the “Add Others” button, a contacts page appears where you can enter the new participant’s email address or phone number , or select them directly from your device’s contacts list. A “Call” button also appears in the top-right corner of the page.
After you tap the “ Call ” button , the interface switches to the “ People ” tab, where a list of current and invited participants is displayed. At the same time, the call window shrinks and appears as a picture-in-picture. For invited participants, the call appears as a regular incoming call , while their names appear on your screen with the label “ Call in progress .” If someone declines or doesn’t answer, the label changes to “ No answer ” and a new button appears. While it appears to allow you to retry the call, it’s more likely intended for existing participants to send a video message.
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Since this feature is still in development, it's unclear when Google will make it widely available to the public. However, we expect it to happen soon. Notably, Google Hangouts — Google's older video calling app that's now defunct — also allowed people to be invited directly from both the web version and the Android app. So it's disappointing that Meet doesn't support this feature yet.
Source: androidauthority
