Google Calendar has always seemed somewhat of a stubborn holdout as Google's other G Suite products slowly shed their old skin and fully adapted to their sleek and highly more sensical material design versions.
While Google updated the mobile version of Google Calendar with a new design, the web version has remained rather clunky, outdated, and often unseemly. It's not a terrible calendar per se — but when the rest of G Suite looks slick, it sticks out like a bad apple in a basket of perfectly good ones.
Luckily, Google is changing that. Starting Tuesday, Oct. 17, the web version of Google Calendar will feature a fresh new look that's closer to the company's material design aesthetic. It seems like the company has taken several features off the mobile app, adapted them for the web, and made them better. Here are a few of them:
Google Calendar Web: Meeting Rooms
G Suite customers, heads up: Admins can now input detailed information about meeting rooms such as location, the actual size of the room, and whether audio/video equipment is available, in addition to wheelchairs. Simply hover over a room name when filling up the event details to see a card popup containing specific details about that venue.
Google Calendar Web: Rich Text Formatting
The newly revamped Google Calendar now also features rich text formatting right inside invites so users can include things such as hyperlinks, documents, spreadsheets, and even presentations. This means everyone who's part of the meeting can get a heads-up on the necessary reading materials and such.
Google Calendar Web: Manage Multiple Calendars
Finding a schedule that fits everyone's plans for the day can be quite hard, but Google Calendar's side-by-side view of everyone's schedules makes finding the right time quite easy. Simply choose "Day" view and select the individual calendars of participants to see their day plans and look for a spot when they're all free.
How To Switch To The New Google Calendar
G Suite admins can enable these features starting Oct. 17, while regular Google Calendar users may have to opt-in to get the fresh new design. It's not difficult, though. Simply go to the Calendar, and there should be a button on the upper right side that says "Use new Calendar." Clicking that activates the material design calendar. Alternatively, users can also click this link.
Thoughts about the newly revamped Google Calendar? Have you tried switching to it yet? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
