How to Download Google Meet
Web apps have come a long way. Browsers today are powerful and internet connections are generally faster with more bandwidth allowing for cloud-based apps. Users can collaborate in real-time and they do not need anything other than a web browser.
That said, you still find that desktop apps are more powerful than web apps for the simple reason that browsers are rarely as powerful or specialised for a specific app type.
Download Google Meet
Google Meet is one of three popular online web conferencing tools, with Zoom and Microsoft Teams, that has seen a surge in users. The free version of Google Meet has some great features; screen sharing, large meeting rooms, and background blur.
It stands to reason that Google Meet will work much like other popular web conferencing tools and that there will be a desktop app to go with it. This isn’t true. As far as Google Meet is concerned;
- There is no dedicated desktop app for Google Meet for any OS.
- Google Meet is used exclusively through a web browser on the desktop.
- Official Google Meet apps for iOS and Android are available.
- For best results, you should use Chrome to host or join a Google Meet meeting.
Create Chrome app
Google Meet does not have a dedicated desktop app. Its capabilities are limited to whichever browser you use it in though you will find that any browser other than Chrome offers a lesser experience.
If you often use Google Meet to host a meeting or join one, it’s a good idea to create a Chrome app for it. A Chrome app can be pinned to the taskbar or the Dock, you can use it to open Google Meet, and it will open in a window of its own, separate from the Chrome browser session you have open.
- Visit Google Meet in Chrome.
- Click the more options (three dots) button at the top right.
- Select More Tools>Create Shortcut.
- Give the Shortcut a name (Google Meet) is best.
- Enable the Open as Window option.
- Click Create.
Pin Google Meet to Start Menu/Taskbar/Dock
Once the app has been created, you should pin it to the taskbar or Start Menu or the Dock (macOS) for quicker access.
On Windows 10;
- Navigate to the Google Meet app that you’ve just created.
- Right-click it and select Pin to Start and/or Pin to Taskbar from the context menu.
On macOS;
- Open the Google Meet Chrome app that you created.
- Right-click the icon in the Dock.
- Select Options>Keep in Dock.
Download Google Meet – Mobile
For iOS and Android, Google Meet has official apps available.
You can get the official Google Meet app for iOS from the App Store and the official Google Meet app for Android from the Google Play Store.
Conclusion
Many users are surprised to learn that Google Meet has no desktop app. It’s a popular video conferencing tool and many users have used it for non-work related meetings. Google has not indicated that it will be developing a desktop app any time soon.
