After a long wait, the new Google Groups update will finally become the default for all users. As announced by the company itself this will take place on September 15.
The full implementation of this redesign has taken a while. A new interface for Google Groups first came to light way back in March. Then in August, the new interface began rolling out to users, this showed us all the new features and the improved clean interface available. At that stage, admins had the option of turning off the new interface.
That option will now be removed for admins and the new modern interface will become the default for all users. Google says it may take a couple of days for this to become fully visible. However, the new Google Groups interface is now imminent for all.
Google continues to phase out Classic Groups
This final roll-out phase of the new update to Google Groups will mean that everyone will begin to see the new interface. Users can decide to return Classic Groups by going to Settings > Return to classic Google Groups if they so chose.
Google says that although Classic Groups remains available after this phase it will eventually disappear. The company has plans for a full migration over to the new Groups.
At this stage, Classic Groups will cease to exist. However, there is no indication as to when that may be so best not to get too concerned just yet.
Essentially what this means is that an admin can no longer force you to use Classic Groups as an end-user. However, as an individual, you still currently have the option to keep using Classic Groups but not for too much longer.
Google also has plans to added more features to the new Google Groups interface. However, it will not do anything until a full migration has been completed.
What to expect from new Google Groups
Google Groups has received a material design makeover that generally gives is a more modern and sleek look. It has also made a number of UI improvements to making managing and finding groups that bit easier.
The new ‘Hamburger Menu’ was one of the most exciting innovations to this redesign given how many people are such a fan of it. Generally, though this is a solid overall update the brings Groups forward by making it a lot more modern and sleek.
Hopefully, what Google has planned for the future in Groups is exciting. After a full migration has been completed we should see some innovative new features coming to the platform which all these changes have allowed.