Review: Updated GoToMeeting iOS Client
GoToMeeting iOS Client. Updated GoToMeeting iOS Client remains free. Hosting a meeting requires a paid GoToMeeting account.
LogMeIn GoToMeeting facilitates shared experiences: a file, a whiteboard, a web page or an active screen. Until recently, mobile devices were OK clients for connecting to meetings, but when it came time to share content, iOS participants arrived with nothing but excuses.
The updated GoToMeeting iOS client eliminates the excuses by adding screen sharing in the latest release of their virtual meeting solution.
New Realtime Sharing Features
This upgrade offers two major advantages to iOS users. First, they become full participants in business meetings. No more whining about being on an iPhone or iPad and not being able to share the presentation so carefully crafted at 37,000 feet that isn’t yet uploaded to the cloud.
Business content fuels modern meetings. iOS screen sharing on iPad and iPhone translates into better remote app demos. Shared native apps, including those from TestFlight and other early release managers, will prove a boon to developers.
The iOS GoToMeeting client works for those attending meetings even if they don’t have a GoToMeeting account. For paid GoToMeeting customers, the client supports joining, planning, and managing meetings. Sharing features include screen sharing, file sharing, creating a shared whiteboard, and sharing a website.
Sharing a screen requires connecting the iPad’s broadcast feature in Control Center first. Press and hold (3D-Touch) the Screen Recording menu and tap on GoToMeeting. Returning to the app, GoToMeeting now displays the message “Now sharing your screen.” Anything you do on your iOS device streams through GoToMeeting.
If you need to shift to file or web sharing tap the TV icon in the top right and stop presenting.
Each shift in sharing mode returns to a screen with four boxes: File, Whiteboard, Website, or iPad screen. Turning off iPad screen sharing, for instance, and sharing a file, requires going back through broadcast set-up.
User control (people icon next to the TV) controls who can and cannot share their screens.
The new realtime sharing features complement group chat and integrated audio, which were available previously.
Further improvement needed
I found the latest version of GoToMeeting easy to master once I figured out how they implemented sharing. For my first meeting, I just launched the app and assumed I would click a button that said, “Start sharing your screen.” But I was wrong and had to go read the documentation. Though broadcast integration works, a button that says, “Start sharing your screen” would be great. Let the software manage the behind the scenes Apple magic. I know GoToMeeting is talking to Apple about improved API tricks. I’ll chime to support anything that reduces taps and screen switches. Easier switching between sharing modes, or even multi-modal sharing, would make future releases nimbler.
The Whiteboard only supports very basic drawing with colored pen and a highlighter. It doesn’t include an eraser, though it does support clearing the screen (an eraser would be better). And while it supports a stylus, Apple Pencil and finger input it does not recognize the Apple Pencil’s unique features like pressure and angle. It’s a pretty primitive experience given today’s outstanding iOS drawing apps.
Switching between sharing approaches (file, screen, web, and whiteboard) requires that the presenter first stop sharing, and then pick a new sharing modality. That results in meetings that stutter with punctuated shifts of process, attention, and momentum.
GoToMeeting should also consider split-screen support to enhance multitasking, along with full Apple Pencil support on the whiteboard for those seeking subtler ways to communicate.
Review Summary
GoToMeeting customers will find the Updated GoToMeeting iOS Client offers almost everything needed to abandon wires and desktops. The app plays especially well on iPad where the screen real estate allows for easier access to features. For developers and B2B solution sellers, native screen sharing for iOS apps makes iPhone and iPad first-class platforms to support the sales cycle.
For advice on how to design good meetings see the Serious Insights Infographic How to Design a Meeting.
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