E52: Last Episode of 2021! Recap of our Recaps, our favorite releases, and 2 last minute ones. 289 updates in total for the year!

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Welcome to the last episode of 2021! It has been another turbulent year as offices continue figuring out work from home and their hopeful return to offices, most of which has not actually happened. Workspace had a monster year with 289 updates, and Workspace Recap was there to help you learn and understand each and every one of them. We look forward to growing our show and expanding into video episodes in the new year, not to worry, these will still be audio-focused shows and you will be able to continue listening on your favorite podcasting platform as well!

Published Releases

1. Set custom rules for incoming Google Voice calls

2. Quick access to restore recently deleted users from Admin console homepage

Other Topics

• Chromebook Owners are using Android Apps 50% YoY - What does that mean for PWA’s?

• A Year in review: Advancements in infrastructure at Google Cloud

• Google Meet in 2021: A year of accelerated innovation

2021 Year in Review | The Numbers

289 Updates (20% more than 240 in '20)

67 Q1 Updates
69 Q2 Updates
87 Q3 Updates
66 Q4 Updates
25 Weekly Recap posts

We went through and picked out our favorite updates of the year, here’s what we chose:

Steve’s Favorites

1. Deploy and manage Google Credential Provider for Windows via the Admin console

2. New option to block devices with basic management from accessing your organization’s data

3. More options for sharing your availability in Google Calendar

4. Google Chat will automatically suggest 1:1 chat based on your Google Calendar

5. Apply context-aware access policies to mobile and desktop applications

6. Restrict Google Drive for desktop to company owned devices, now generally available

7. Evolving Rooms in Google Chat to Spaces to create a richer, more collaborative experience

8. Google Chat will automatically suggest group chats based on your Google Calendar

9. Share where you’re working from in Google Calendar

Jesse’s Favorites

1. New tools to troubleshoot network and performance issues in Google Meet

2. Resize the Chat and Rooms sections in Gmail on the web

3. Self-check your video and peripheral device quality in the Google Meet green room before joining a meeting

4. Email aliases now included in Gmail search results

5. End a Google Meet video call for everyone at once

6. See more video feeds in Google Meet

7. Google Chat will automatically suggest 1:1 chat based on your Google Calendar

8. New and improved Google Chat UI on the web

9. Automatically save your response progress in Google Forms: Beta available for Google Workspace for Education customers

10. Email threads with recipients outside your organization will be labeled “External”

11. Insert smart chips for files and meetings, create checklists in Google Docs

12. Evolving Rooms in Google Chat to Spaces to create a richer, more collaborative experience

13. Improvements to Hand Raise in Google Meet, including automatic hand lowering, better notifications, and more

14. New and improved Google Chat user interface, now for everyone

15. Backup and Sync users should begin transitioning to Drive for desktop

16. Dark mode for Google Chat on web

17. Find and share GIFs in Google Chat

18. Mark Google Chat messages as unread

19. Easily add to Google Docs with the new universal @ menu

20. Spaces in Google Chat can now be deleted

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Workspace Recap is the only show dedicated to and discussing all of the changes happening in Google Workspace on a weekly basis, as well as how all these changes affect our users and our businesses. Google Workspace is innovating at a breakneck pace, making it difficult to keep up and keep track. Join us each week as we discuss What’s New in Google Workspace, Upcoming Google Workspace releases, and answer your questions.