Having recently passed the one-year anniversary of
BlueJeans’s acquisition, Verizon Business is stepping on the gas for its meeting service, this week announcing a slew of updates around BlueJeans by Verizon network deployment, the BlueJeans Mobile app, and additional device support.
The BlueJeans-related network update, in particular, reflects Verizon Business’s mission of making video a large part of its enterprise plan. As Eric Spadafora, VP and GM of BlueJeans by Verizon, shared during a No Jitter briefing, the provider "is committed to the long-term structure and strategy of video as a service in the network."
Toward that end, Verizon Business is committed to deploying BlueJeans at the edge of its network, as stated in the
company’s press release. With BlueJeans at the edge, Verizon Business will be able to execute virtual background and immersive presentation modes within the network, freeing up computer resources on the user side, Verizon Business explained. Other beneficiaries of BlueJeans at the edge will be resource-intensive use cases like virtual reality and augmented reality, the company added.
In addition to these networking changes, Verizon Business is bringing greater flexibility for BlueJean’s use on iPadOS, iOS, and Android devices. This BlueJeans Mobile iPadOS release features:
- Layout flexibility — iPad users can toggle between content and video tile layouts, similar to how they would move within the BluJeans desktop app.
- 7x7 galley view — An expanded gallery view will allow for up to 49 participants to appear on screen at one time. Users can also adjust how many meeting participants appear on screen with a touch-enabled zoom feature.
- Apple Center Screen — Supported by iPad's built-in machine learning capabilities and ultrawide front camera, this auto-framing feature will automatically center a user's BlueJeans video stream.
- Separate in-meeting screens — Users can now pull up a separate in-meeting screen for multitasking purposes.
For Android and iOS mobile devices, updates include the ability to overlay content with video tiles and quick join options, Verizon Business said. To improve a user’s appearance in the video stream, BlueJeans will support a hair check and background blur feature, Verizon Business added. Additionally, it is providing a web-based, no download version of BlueJeans — WebRTC for Meetings, Verizon Business said.
Also on the device side, Verizon revealed the Motorola One 5G UW Ace, a 5G phone that comes pre-loaded with the BlueJeans Meetings mobile app. The device is available for $300 or free with a Verizon premium Unlimited plan, Verizon Business added. And, BlueJeans is also now available for use with Vuzix M400 and M4000 Smart Glasses, designed for back-office, field technicians, and remote workers, Verizon Business said. The app is free to download but will require a BlueJeans license, Verizon Business said.
