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What’s changing
In the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing several improvements to Chrome-on-iOS that will help admins more seamlessly apply policies and preferences across their users’ managed devices. This launch will align with the planned release of Chrome 121. Specifically, these improvements are: 
  • Cross-device policy application: Whether it’s a company-owned or personal device, Chrome User Policies can be applied when a user signs into the Chrome browser with their managed account. This ensures a consistent and secure browsing experience across all devices.
  • Management notice for end-users: Managed end-users will begin seeing a management notice, informing them that their organization manages the account they are signing into. This transparency not only fosters trust but also keeps users informed about the security measures in place to protect their data. 
  • Admin console integration: Admins can easily activate this functionality through the Admin console under the "Chrome on iOS" Browser setting. This centralized control allows admins to tailor policies to meet the specific needs of their organization, ensuring a customized and secure browsing environment for all users.
Getting started
 
We’ll remind you that your account is managed upon login and when you’re logged in.


Rollout pace
End user notifications

Admin console integration

Availability
  • Available to all Chrome Browser Cloud Management and Google Workspace customers

Resources

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What’s changing
We’re making some changes to how certain Google Meet hardware information can be accessed: 
  • The following fields will no longer be exported from the Meet Devices list page of the Admin console (Devices > Google Meet hardware > Devices): 
    • assignedCalendarGeneratedResourceName
    • assignedRoomResourceName 
    • assignedRoomBuilding 
    • assignedRoomFloor 
  • If you receive email alerts when a hardware issue is detected, those emails will no longer include the “Asset location” value. 
This information can still be found by going to the device detail page under the Calendar card or by querying the resources.calendars.list method in the Admin SDK API using the resource calendar email. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • This update impacts all Google Workspace customers with Meet Hardware devices. 

Resources 
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What’s changing
Earlier this year, we informed users that Gmail Basic HTML view for desktop web and mobile web would be disabled starting in early 2024. We know that many users in the accessibility community use Basic HTML view, so today we’re sharing a guide to help screen reader users make the switch from HTML to Standard view. This new guide, along with an existing resource to ensure the best Gmail experience when using a desktop screen reader, should help users get up to speed on Gmail Standard view. 

If you haven’t used Standard view recently, you’ll notice we’ve made numerous usability improvements, including enhancements for people that prefer or require the precision of navigating the user interface by keyboard or screen reader. Accessibility of Standard view has significantly improved over the last few years and we’re committed to continuing to improve the accessibility experience and making new features accessible going forward. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. You can use Gmail on your browser in Basic HTML view through February 2024. After this, Gmail automatically changes to Standard view. 
  • End users: Once Basic HTML view is disabled, users will automatically be redirected to the Standard Gmail view which provides the latest in Gmail security and features. Users on old browsers may need to update their browser to use the Standard view. On mobile, users can also download the official Gmail app. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Gmail with a screen reader. 
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • This impacts all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources 
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2 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


We have begun enforcing 2-step verification for all admin accounts 
Two-step verification (2SV) is a critical security measure that has been proven to reduce password-based hijacking by more than 50%. We are committed to protecting the security of our users and are taking additional steps to help customers guard against data compromise and prevent account takeovers.

We have begun enforcing 2SV for all admin accounts and will continue this enforcement on an ongoing basis. As of December 2023, this change is already in effect for some customers. When this goes into effect for your organization, you will receive the following notifications:
  • 30 days prior to enforcement in your domain: Super admins will receive various email and in-app notifications informing them of the forthcoming enforcement, encouraging them to verify their admins’ 2SV status. 
  • Once enforcement goes into effect in your domain: All admins will receive email and in-app notifications upon signing into their accounts for the next thirty days. If they do not enable 2SV within this time period, they will be locked out and will need to follow these steps to recover an administrator account.
We highly encourage all administrators to turn on 2SV as soon as possible. Visit the Help Center for more details and further guidance.



Dynamic groups limit increased to 500 
We’re increasing the number of dynamic groups a customer can have from 100 to 500. Dynamic groups are defined as groups whose membership is managed automatically based on specific criteria, such as a user’s department or location. This increase gives admins more flexibility to create dynamic groups as needed and cuts down on manual group management tasks that would otherwise be required. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at a gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Available for Google Workspace Frontline Standard, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more about dynamic groups.


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Meet Add-ons SDK available in Developer Preview 
The Google Meet Web Add-ons SDK is available through our Developer Preview Program. Developers can use the SDK to bring their app experience right into Meet. End users can install, open, and collaborate in apps right inside a meeting, either as the meeting focal point, or in the sidebar — all without ever leaving Meet. | Learn more about Meet Add-ons SDK .

Huddly cameras bring continuous framing to Google Meet Series One room kits 
As part of our initiative to bring adaptive framing to Google Meet meeting rooms, we’re proud to announce that you can now access Huddly’s continuous framing capability available as part of the Series One room kit hardware devices. | Available to all Google Workspace customers using Google Meet Series One room kits only. | Learn more about Google Meet Series One.

Record and share your name pronunciation across Google Workspace products 
From your Google account settings, you can now record your name and share its pronunciation with other users. The pronunciation can be played from your profile card across various Google Workspace tools such as Gmail or Google Docs on web or mobile devices. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline Starter, Frontline Standard, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about name pronunciation. 

Easy access to people, documents, building blocks and more in Google Docs 
When moving to a blank line within your Doc, you will see an “@” button with the option to select, search and insert smart chips, such as people, dates, timers, or files, building blocks, calendar events, groups and more. | Learn more about bringing smart canvas features to the forefront of your workflow. 

Excuse assignments in Google Classroom 
Teachers can mark an assignment for a particular student as “Excused” instead of giving it a 0-100 score. This will exclude that particular assignment from the student’s overall grade. | Learn more about excusing assignments. 

Introducing interactive questions for YouTube videos in Google Classroom 
Educators can now turn any YouTube video into an interactive lesson by adding questions for their students to answer throughout the video. | Available to Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade only. | Learn more about interactive videos. 

Introducing the Bitbucket app for Google Chat 
We’re adding Bitbucket for Google Chat. Bitbucket is a Git-based code and CI/CD tool optimized for teams using Atlassian’s Jira. | Learn more about Bitbucket app for Google Chat. 

Use “Profile Discovery” to display basic information only in search results, available in open beta 
Google Workspace admins can now turn on “Profile discovery” for their users. When turned on, users can customize how they appear across Google products to people who search for them by their phone number or email. Specifically, you can choose how you want your name to be displayed and how your profile picture will be displayed. | Learn more about Profile Discovery.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains: 
Scheduled Release Domains: 
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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What’s changing

Google Workspace admins can now turn on “Profile discovery” for their users. When turned on, users can customize how they appear across Google products to people who search for them by their phone number or email. Specifically, you can choose how you want your name to be displayed and how your profile picture will be displayed. 

This feature is available in open beta, which means no additional sign-up is required to use the feature.








In the Admin console, under Directory Settings > Profile editing, you can turn “Profile discovery” on or off for your users.

To help people recognize you, we’ll share basic information needed to confirm your identity. After you interact with someone, they'll typically see your full name, profile picture, and more from your Google Account.




Getting started
Rollout pace


Availability
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources
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What’s changing 
Following the recently announced Workday app for Google Chat that allows you to perform quick actions in Workday without leaving Google Chat, we’re excited to also introduce Bitbucket for Google Chat. 

Bitbucket is a Git-based code and CI/CD tool optimized for teams using Atlassian’s Jira. The Bitbucket app for Google Chat will allow you to receive messages when events occur in your Bitbucket repositories, as well as perform quick actions, such as viewing and approving pull requests. 
Bitbucket app for Google Chat


Getting started 
Rollout pace 
  • This app is available now for all users. 

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 
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What’s changing
Educators can now turn any YouTube video into an interactive lesson by adding questions for their students to answer throughout the video. 

The interactive questions feature turns a passive watching experience into an engaging one, and improves students’ understanding of a subject by providing them with the space to make mistakes, review incorrect answers and assess correct answers at their own pace. 

Once students within a class have completed the video activity, educators will have access to a dashboard of key insights based on student engagement levels. 
Introducing interactive questions for YouTube videos in Google Classroom


Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 
While interactive YouTube video assignments will be beneficial to students, it will also help educators identify concepts that need more instruction time, discover students who may need extra support and also shape future lesson plans. Educators are also able to scale individualized support since students will get real-time validation as they answer certain question types in the video activities. 


Additional details 
You can now use the “Resources” tab in the Classroom left navigation to find and manage all your video activities and practice sets. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade 

Resources 
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What’s changing 
Following the expansion of grading systems in Google Classroom, we’re adding an additional feature that gives teachers even more flexibility when it comes to grading for assignments and classwork. 

Starting today, teachers can mark an assignment for a particular student as “Excused” instead of giving it a 0-100 score. This will exclude that particular assignment from the student’s overall grade. We hope this requested feature addresses various class scenarios, such as wanting to drop a student’s lowest assignment, excusing an assignment when a student is absent, or any other circumstance in which an assignment should not be included in a student’s grade. 
excuse assignments in Classroom


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about excused grading.
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources 
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Update
[January 30, 2024] We have rolled this feature back for Rapid Release domains while we evaluate performance and quality. We will provide an update with new rollout information for Rapid & Scheduled Release domains when possible.

[January 24, 2024] Rollout to Rapid Release domains has completed. We have paused rollout to Scheduled Release domains for this feature while we evaluate performance and quality. We will provide an update once rollout resumes.

What’s changing

Building upon the recently introduced row of buttons at the top of your newly created Google Docs, we’re adding more ways to quickly find and insert relevant content directly into your document with an additional way to open the @-menu. This is another feature that boosts productivity and saves time by bringing smart canvas features to the forefront of your workflow.

When moving to a blank line within your Doc, you will see an “@” button with the option to select, search and insert smart chips, such as people, dates, timers, or files, building blocks, calendar events, groups and more. 
Easy access to people, documents, building blocks and more in Google Docs


Getting started 

Rollout pace 
  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 11, 2023 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on January 24, 2024 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources 
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What’s changing
From your Google account settings, you can now record your name and share its pronunciation with other users. The pronunciation can be played from your profile card across various Google Workspace tools such as Gmail or Google Docs on web or mobile devices. We hope this update makes it easier for you to represent yourself and connect with colleagues in Google Workspace. 


When you record and share your name pronunciation, it can be viewed across various Workspace products



Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability
  • Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline Starter, Frontline Standard, and Nonprofits customers
  • Not available for Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers 

Resources 
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