Google Beam Brings More Natural Video Conversations Within Reach
At Google I/O 2025, most of the hands-on demos were dedicated to Gemini AI and the exciting Android XR glasses. But tucked in a corner of the grounds around the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, was a set of windowless rooms showing off one of the company's most promising innovations: Google Beam. In one of those rooms, I had a video chat where my conversation partner literally popped off the screen in 3D.
Google Beam is the new name for Project Starline, which the company has been working on for years. The renaming was announced during the Google I/O keynote to coincide with the news that HP would be producing Beam units for sale by the end of the year. While Google didn't share many details, these commercial and enterprise products will run roughly the same technology as what I got to experience, though they'll look more like conventional TVs than prototype devices.
I'd gotten a preview of then-Project Starline at the Code Conference in October 2023, and the hardware at the Google I/O 2025 demo was identical: a 65-inch display with six cameras surrounding it mounted in pairs on the top and both sides. (HP's commercial devices will have its six cameras embedded in the bezels.) The AI models now are running in Google Cloud, which the Beam team has refined to improve the quality of chats people have with it.
"Overall people report feeling a strong sense of connection when taking meetings on Google Beam," said Patrick Seybold, head of communications for Google Beam. The team has been testing its prototype devices internally across buildings and with external partners like Salesforce.
David Lumb/CNET
What it's like to chat with Google Beam
The improvements made were subtle, but noticeable compared to what I remember from two years ago. The Google employee I chatted with (who was in front of a similar Beam setup in a distant office building) popped out of the screen, with more detail on their face and hair. It felt far more like they were in the room with me than if I was on a standard Zoom-style video call. I found myself gesturing more, smiling wider and leaning forward in my chair.
That tracks with Google's years of research on people's behavior since first announcing Starline at Google I/O 2021. As the company has detailed in prior blog posts and SIGGRAPH white papers, folks chatting with Starline (now called Beam) feel it results in "more natural" conversations, though they have a hard time pinning down why. This suggests Beam preserves a lot of subconscious behaviors people don't realize they're making in real-life chats that don't get across in a Zoom call.
I certainly felt this in my Beam chat: The 3D nature let me pick up on when my conversation partner was shifting away or toward me and I picked up on more gestures and body language that conveyed tells that enable the typical ebb and flow of an IRL exchange. I didn't find myself talking over the other person, nor did they interrupt me.
Some of this is a result of tech decisions -- because, yes, I'm definitely more engaged in conversation with someone on a 65-inch display than a 2-inch Zoom window on my monitor. There's also the fact that every Beam conversation seems to be in an antiseptic room and a plain background, without a lot of books and tchotchkes littered around to distract me. Beam's six cameras also track my face and present my conversation partner at eye level, making it feel like I'm having a face-to-face chat with true eye contact.
"There are many ingredients involved to create the feeling of presence and connection that the Google Beam experience facilitates," said Seybold. "The 3D effect, the eye contact, the natural scale, and other key elements all play a role in facilitating that feeling of immersion."
In my chat at Google I/O, the Beam team member pulled a similar stunt as my conversation partner had when I tried out Starline in 2023: holding out an apple for me to reach for. It had a similar effect, like I was just too far away to catch it if it fell. But I also held up my hands for a double high five which, again, felt like I was inches away from performing. And I remember some of the things we talked about even now, which is more than I can say of some Zoom video chats I had earlier this week.
"We've run studies in these workplace environments that show people tend to be more attentive and remember more of their conversations when meeting on Google Beam," Seybold said. "We've even run studies and found that people over the course of multiple back-to-back meetings exhibit less meeting fatigue with Google Beam relative to typical video conferencing."
Google hasn't given any details on how much Beam products will cost, though we may find out when HP shares more information about its Beam offerings at Infocomm in a few weeks. Google has confirmed that it's lined up customers from Deloitte, Salesforce and Citadel, and referred to HP's products as bringing Beam devices "to the workplace," so it's likely that the first round of products will be aimed at enterprise -- which means, if I had to guess, it could be potentially priced out of the consumer market.
While not all of us will need a 65-inch display Beam device to have immersive video chats, it's something I'm looking forward to coming to my own offices and eventually to household devices. When I walked out of the room at Google I/O, I was smiling -- something I can't say I've done after a conventional video chat.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Android Authority
36 minutes ago
- Android Authority
Wear OS 6 could finally add a Water Lock mode on the Pixel Watch
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Google appears to be developing a 'Water Lock' shortcut for Wear OS, and it could arrive on the Pixel Watch with the upcoming Wear OS 6 update. This feature would likely disable the watch's touchscreen to prevent erratic behavior and false touches when the device gets wet. However, evidence of an accompanying water ejection sound is missing, and there's no guarantee the feature will be in the final release. The best smartwatches are typically highly water-resistant, so you can take them into the swimming pool or shower without worry. However, while getting them wet won't cause damage, it can make them act up. That's because most smartwatches use capacitive touchscreens, which often behave erratically when water lands on them, leading to annoying false touches and a loss of sensitivity. You're reading an Authority Insights story. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. To prevent these issues, many smartwatches feature a dedicated 'Water Lock' mode that disables the touchscreen. This mode is often paired with a water ejection feature that plays a specific tone to clear water from the speaker port. On most devices, like those from Samsung and Apple, this water ejection is triggered automatically when you turn off Water Lock, but it can also be activated manually. Water Lock shortcut on the Galaxy Watch Water Lock setting on the Galaxy Watch Water ejection feature on the Galaxy Watch In contrast, Google's Pixel Watch doesn't offer a dedicated Water Lock mode or a water ejection feature. While it automatically disables touch input when you start a swim workout, it won't do so if you're just wearing it in the rain or shower. However, Google may finally add a dedicated Water Lock shortcut with the upcoming Wear OS 6 update. While digging through the Wear OS 6 Developer Preview, I spotted new text strings suggesting a Quick Settings tile called 'Water Lock' is being added. Although the strings don't detail what this mode does, it will likely work as you'd expect: disabling the watch's touchscreen to prevent accidental inputs from water. Code Copy Text Water lock Water Lock Water lock on Turn on Water lock? Notably, the code strings also lack any mention of a water ejection feature. Without one, the new 'Water Lock' mode would be functionally identical to the Pixel Watch's existing 'Touch Lock' feature. If that's the case, its only real benefit would be to give users a more clearly named option to enable before getting their watch wet. Finally, even though these 'Water Lock' strings appeared in the Wear OS 6 Developer Preview, there's no guarantee the feature will show up in the stable update. All we know for sure is that Google is developing this for the Wear OS platform; whether the company enables it on its own watches is something we'll have to wait and see. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
TechCrunch
36 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
AMD acqui-hires the employees behind Untether AI
In Brief AMD is continuing its acquisition spree. Semiconductor giant AMD acqui-hired the team behind Untether AI, a startup that develops AI inference chips, as originally reported by CRN. Untether claims that their chips are faster and more energy-efficient than their rivals. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Toronto-based Untether was founded in 2018 and has raised more than $150 million in venture capital from firms including Intel Capital, Radical Ventures, and Tracker Capital Management, among others. Untether released an AI chip in October meant to power physical AI applications in machines including cars and agricultural devices. Earlier this week, AMD announced it had acquired AI software optimization platform Brium. TechCrunch has reached out to AMD for more information.
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
Live Updates: In Chaotic Economy, Hiring Remained Steady in May
Matt Minich, who was fired from his job with the Food and Drug Administration in February, was one of thousands swept up in the mass layoffs of probationary workers at the beginning of President Trump's second administration. After Matt Minich was fired from his job with the Food and Drug Administration in February, he did what many scientists have done for years after leaving public service. He looked for a position with a university. Mr. Minich, 38, was one of thousands swept up in the mass layoffs of probationary workers at the beginning of President Trump's second administration. The shock of those early moves heralded more upheaval to come as the Department of Government Efficiency, led by the tech billionaire Elon Musk, raced through agency after agency, slashing staff, freezing spending and ripping up government contracts. In March, about 45 minutes after Mr. Minich accepted a job as a scientist in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, the program lost its federal grant funding. Mr. Minich, who had worked on reducing the negative health impacts of tobacco use, observed that he had the special honor of 'being DOGE-ed twice.' 'I'm doubly not needed by the federal government,' he said in an interview. He is still hunting for work. And like hundreds of thousands of other former civil servants forced into an increasingly crowded job market, he is finding that drastic cuts to grants and contracts in academia, consulting and direct services mean even fewer opportunities are available. Some states that were hiring, another avenue for former federal government employees, have pulled back. So, too, have the private contractors typically seen as a landing place. The situation is expected to worsen as more layoffs are announced, voluntary departures mount and workers who were placed on administrative leave see the clock run out. Image More than 700 people attended a recent resource fair in Arlington, Va., to receive free consultation, professional headshots and workshops. Credit... Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times With Mr. Musk's time in Washington now done, a fuller picture of just how completely he and Mr. Trump have upended the role of government is coming into view. Federal tax dollars underpin entire professions, directly and indirectly, and the cuts led by Mr. Musk's operation have left some workers with nowhere to go. In Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area, the disruption has the hallmarks of the collapse of an industrial cluster, not unlike the disappearance of manufacturing jobs in the upper Midwest during the 2000s. Except this time, it is moving at lightning speed. In January, just as Mr. Trump was taking office, the civilian federal work force across the country had reached a post-World War II peak of 2.3 million, not including the Postal Service. Few agencies have publicly stated how many people have been fired or voluntarily resigned, but a rough count shows that federal agencies have lost some 135,000 to firings and voluntary resignation, with another 150,000 in planned reductions. Contracted and grant-funded workers — which the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimated to be as many as 4.6 million people — are harder to track in official data. The first contractor layoffs began in February with organizations that received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, like Chemonics and FHI360. As more grants and contracts that were under review across government are terminated, job cuts have gained steam. Booz Allen Hamilton, the sprawling consulting firm based in Northern Virginia that gets 98 percent of its revenue from the federal government, announced that it was cutting 7 percent of its 36,000-person staff. Even providers of Head Start, the low-income preschool program, have issued layoff notices because funding has been in doubt. While the national labor market remains stable, job loss is starting to become notable in the capital region. Unemployment rates in the District of Columbia and most of its surrounding counties have been on the rise since December. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance has been elevated in Virginia and D.C. over the past several months. Job postings in Washington have dropped across the board, according to the hiring platform Indeed, including in opportunities for administrative assistance, human resources and accounting. Local government agencies around Washington are hosting dozens of hiring events, and most of them are packed. Elaine Chalmers of Woodbridge, Va., was among 750 people who attended a recent resource fair in Arlington, Va., just outside Washington. The event offered free consultation for updating résumés, as well as professional headshots and workshops, including one on managing personal finances during a transition in employment. Image Elaine Chalmers of Woodbridge, Va., resigned from her role at the Agriculture Department to escape the stress and uncertainty created by new mandates. Credit... Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times It was the fourth one she attended in the month since she left the Agriculture Department, where she had worked for 20 years, most recently in the division that ensured equal access to grants for rural communities. She resigned to escape the stress and uncertainty created by new mandates, such as erasing words like 'equity' and 'diversity' from department communications. 'It just became almost a character question for myself,' said Ms. Chalmers, 53. 'I couldn't honorably stay.' Like many of the federal workers who chose to take a deferred resignation or early retirement, one of the tools the administration has used to shrink the work force, she is on leave and will be paid through September. It is a relief, she said, because she is the sole caregiver for her mother and 15-year-old son. But the prospects do not look good. Ms. Chalmers said she expected to have to take a pay cut. She said she applied for more than 100 jobs in the week before the job fair and received several automated emails informing her that she did not get the position. For many government workers, career transitions can be especially daunting because their jobs are often extremely specific, performing functions that do not exist in the private sector. 'For a lot of them, it's almost like starting from scratch,' said Laura Moreno-Davis, a spokeswoman for WorkSource Montgomery, the work force agency for Montgomery County, Md., just outside D.C. 'If they really have a wealth of experience and knowledge, how can we best use that?' A new group formed by two former federal employees is trying to help people do that. 'How do you translate these skills that you've learned in the federal government that are so complex and seem to be so unique into something that can be communicated easily outside of the federal government?' said Julie Cerqueira, co-founder of the group, FedsForward. Ms. Cerqueira's partner, Karen Lee, said that people who worked in federal disaster recovery and resilience jobs, for example, had expertise that could easily transfer to private-sector work in contingency planning and supply chains. But it is not so simple for everyone. Chelsea Van Thof, 33, is a public health veterinarian who focused on diseases that spread from animals to humans, and humans to animals — a niche job even in government. A few weeks after the inauguration, the contract she worked under at the State Department was placed on hold for a 90-day review and ultimately terminated. Dr. Van Thof immediately lost her health insurance and took on a housemate to cover her rent. Image Chelsea Van Thof, a public health veterinarian, saw the contract she worked under at the State Department be placed on hold for a 90-day review and ultimately terminated a few weeks after President Trump's inauguration. Credit... Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times Plans for the future changed, too, as she had been counting on public-sector loan forgiveness to pay off her $250,000 in veterinary school debt, a prospect that now seems increasingly remote. She sometimes feels as though she is sending résumés into a void. 'I was just thankful when I got a rejection because it meant they saw my application,' she said. Like others in the science field, including Mr. Minich, she is looking for jobs outside the country. And in the meantime, she helped form a support group of about 80 wildlife protection conservationists who are in similar predicaments. People working on government contracts are hit especially hard because they are not eligible for the deferred resignation plans available to federal employees, and cannot look forward to their pensions. Todd Frank, of Westminster, Md., was given just a few minutes' notice before he was laid off as a technical writer on a contract with the Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate, helping get the appropriate gear out to military personnel in the field. Mr. Frank, 54, is now wrestling with whether to uproot his family to find a new job, which would come with steep trade-offs. His wife runs her own business — a licensed day care out of their home. His teenage sons do not want to leave their high school, he said. Lately, he is looking at the family's budget for where to make cuts. 'Not being able to buy a suit for prom sounds like rich people problems, but you don't want to turn around and tell your kid, 'You can't do this' or 'You can't do that,'' Mr. Frank said. Several states had advertised their eagerness to hire people laid off by the federal government in the early days of federal cuts. In March, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania said the state would give hiring preference to former federal workers. Since then, the state government has received more than 7,300 applications from people who said they had federal experience, his office said, and so far, state agencies have hired 120 of them. But state jobs have gotten a lot more popular in recent months. Since March, former and current federal employees have sent in nearly 700 applications, California's human resources office said. Some states are having their own budget problems, in part brought on by uncertainty around the continuation of federal funding. Alaska, Massachusetts, Indiana, Louisiana and New Hampshire have implemented hiring freezes. Public health agencies in Ohio and Alaska have laid people off as grants were canceled. And a broad swath of universities have also paused new hires, including the University of California system, the University of Pennsylvania, and Emory University in Georgia. With the Trump administration's firings of scientists and grant cancellations from agencies including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, science and consulting have been hit especially hard, according to Indeed. Companies and nonprofits that helped evaluate whether federal programs were working, like American Institutes for Research, have let go up to a quarter of their payroll. Paro Sen, a research scientist in Cincinnati, was laid off in May along with most of the people in her office at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. She worked on industrial hygiene, studying worker exposures that cause chronic health problems, and visited Washington in May with her union to talk to members of Congress about the need to restore these jobs to the federal government. 'This was my dream job that I have been ripped from,' she said in an interview. Ms. Sen and her colleagues work in such a specialized field that they are competing for very few available jobs, especially if they want to stay where they are. 'The job market right now is not amazing,' said Ms. Sen, 29. 'Cincinnati is not a very big city, and you've got, suddenly, some of the smartest people in this field all applying and competing for the exact same jobs at the same time.'
