Last month at the company’s I/O conference, Google unveiled Google Beam. Previously called Project Starline, the video conferencing platform has gone through several iterations. Originally an entire video-calling booth, Google Beam has been slimmed down into the form of a proprietary platform, while HP and other partnered companies will be handling manufacturing on the hardware side of things. Slated to begin shipping later this year, the full specs of Google Beam are now available on HP’s website, including the price: a hefty $25,000.
HP’s listing for the Google Beam kit includes a 65-inch light field display with adaptive LED lighting, seven integrated cameras, a 12-mic beamforming array and table microphone for audio capture, and four speakers with spatial audio. The display is designed to enable “life-size meeting partners” for an enhanced connection during calls. According to HP, Google Beam users noted “39% more non-verbal behaviors displayed” when compared to traditional video calling. Additionally, 37%
of users “noticed more turn taking when talking with their meeting partner” compared to a traditional video call.
HP notes that the entire system is scalable, with the table microphone offers daisy-chaining for eight additional mics, and that a discreet, magnetic mount is included for cable management.
The following was originally published on May 22, 2025:
After years of previews, redesigns, and vague release dates, it appears that Google’s immersive video-call system is finally ready for launch. Formerly known as Project Starline, Google’s Sundar Pichai unveiled the rebranded Google Beam at the the company’s 2025 I/O conference. Originally conceived as a video-calling booth, Google Beam has been redesigned into a video-call platform that the company claims could be priced similarly to current systems on the market. Notably, Google is outsourcing the hardware component of Beam by providing manufacturers with reference designs, starting with HP, which Google announced it was partnering with last year. The system now hinges on Google’s proprietary AI volumetric video model to make callers feel like they are face to face.
Google has said that it will be bringing Google Beam to the market with “select customers” later this year. In the video above, watch Pichai reveal Google Beam and overview the new platform. In the video below, The Verge’s Alex Heath gets an exclusive hands-on demo with the new platform.
The following was originally published May 16, 2024:
It’s been one year since we last received any news on Project Starline, Google’s attempt at hyper-realistic, immersive video calls. We had seen that Google had drastically changed the platform’s form factor from a large video-calling booth to a much more streamlined display with built-in cameras, relying on AI algorithms to handle the heavy lifting. This year’s Google I/O conference saw news break that Project Starline finally has a timeline for release: 2025. The company has also officially announced that it is partnering with HP for the initial rollout, and intend to make the technology compatible with videoconferencing platforms already in use, such as Zoom and Google Meet.
“Today we’re excited to share that we’re bringing the technology out of the lab with a focus on connecting distributed teams and individuals in the workplace,” reads Google’s announcement. We’re partnering with HP to start commercialization of this unique experience in 2025, and are working to enable it directly from the video conferencing services you use today — such as Google Meet and Zoom.”
Microsoft ending support for classic Teams July 1
More details regarding the release as well as Google’s partnership with HP are scheduled to come later this year, though its safe to assume that Project Starline will be an HP-product exclusive, at least at launch.
The following was originally published May 19, 2023:
The last time we saw Google’s Project Starline, it took the form of a large video-calling booth, much like Logitech’s similarly named Project Ghost. Project Starline, Google’s foray into making video calls more immersive and lifelike, has reappeared at this year’s I/O conference, revealing a pretty drastic shift in its approach. No longer a large booth, the technology is now housed in a much smaller formfactor that looks a lot more like a large TV than an entire cubicle. To achieve this, the number of cameras used for the 3D modeling have been drastically reduced, and infrared light emitters have been replaced entirely by AI algorithms and machine learning. AI is the key factor in this iteration of Project Starline, as images taken from multiple camera angles are processed by AI to form a believable “hologram” with a realistic depth of field.
Select press was able to try out Project Starline in a short demo session, and while photos and video were not permitted, reviewers are impressed with this scaled-down version. There are still some artifacts and kinks to be worked out, and audio isn’t as seamless as we might want, but the early consensus is that the technology achieves what it sets out to do. Here’s what people are saying:
From Engadget (Cherlynn Low):
“What blew me away, though, was when he picked up an apple (haha I guess Apple can say it was at I/O) and held it out towards me. It was so realistic that I felt as if I could grab the fruit from his fist. We tried a few other things later — fist bumping and high fiving, and though we never actually made physical contact, the positioning of limbs on the call was accurate enough that we could grab the projections of each other’s fists. The experience wasn’t perfect, of course. There were parts where, when Nartker and I were talking at the same time, I could tell he could not hear what I was saying. Every now and then, too, the graphics would blink or appear to glitch. But those were very minor issues, and overall the demo felt very refined.” (MORE@ENGADGET)
From TechCrunch (Brian Heater):
“You’ve likely heard people complain — or complained yourself — about the things we lost as we moved from the in-person meeting to virtual. It’s an objectively true sentiment. Obviously Project Starline is still very much a virtual experience, but can probably trick your brain into believing otherwise. For the sake of a workplace meeting, that’s frankly probably more than enough.” (MORE@TECHCRUNCH)
From Gizmodo (Florence Ion):
“Despite the uncanny valley vibes I got within the first few seconds of the demonstration, I realized that what I liked about Project Starline was that it encouraged me to engage. Unlike a webcam chat, where I hardly look into the lens to fake eye contact and stare at the screen instead, Starline made me forget about the cameras so that I could focus entirely on the person in front of me: Andrew Nartker, the lead for the Project Starline team. It’s the same awareness I have when interacting with folks person-to-person.” (MORE@GIZMODO)
