Display maker Avocor has teamed up with Google Workspace to announce two new video conferencing products: the Google Meet Series One Desk 27 and Board 65. Both products are touchscreen displays that incorporate speakers, mics, and a laptop dock to serve as a dedicated collaboration hub. Though optimized for Google Meet, the Desk 27 and Board 65 will be compatible with Zoom, Teams, and other third party conferencing apps.

The Desk 27 and Board 65

The Desk 27 is a 27-inch QHD (2560x1440, 16:9) monitor with a typical 300 nits of brightness and multi-touch capacitive touchscreen. It’s integrated with Google Meet and the whiteboarding app Jamboard, also from Google Workspace (the portfolio of cloud apps including Meet, Gmail, Docs, Drive, etc., formerly known as G Suite). The built-in 8-mic array uses Google’s TrueVoice noise cancellation technology to filter background noise, using a dedicated Google tensor processing unit(TPU) alongside an Intel Core-i5 processor. The 5 megapixel electronic pan-tilt-zoom camera uses Google’s continuous framing technology to keep participants in focus.

The Desk 27 comes with an adjustable tabletop stand that can be tilted for easy whiteboarding with the included passive stylus, which is magnetically attached below the display. The monitor can also be wall-mounted. Users can connect their computers to the Desk 27 with a single USB-C port for power, video, and audio, but the device also includes two USB-A ports, an HDMI, a headphone jack, and a power and ethernet port.

The Board 65 is the bigger brother to the Desk 27, a 65-inch touchscreen meant for the conference room. It differentiates itself with a higher-res 4K display (3840x2160, 16:9), a brighter 400 nits of typical luminance, and a better 12 megapixel camera. It also has a better Intel Core-i7 processor alongside the dedicated TPU (which is presumably the same as that in the Desk 27).

The I/O ports in the Board 65 are similar to the Desk 27, with a single USB-C for connectivity, one USB-A port, two HDMI ports, a headphone jack, one RJ-45 for Ethernet and two for Power over Ethernet (PoE) accessories, as well as a power port. The device can be wall-mounted or placed on an optional mobile stand, and includes two passive styli.

Pricing and Availability

Though the Desk 27 and Board 65 seem like interesting devices, they come with a steep price tag: $1999 for the Desk 27 and $6999 for the Board 65. Other 27-inch touchscreen monitors cost a fraction of the Desk 27’s price, even ones equipped with built-in audio, video, and docks. As for the Board 65, Google’s own  Jamboard —a 55-inch 4K touchscreen device made for the corresponding Jamboard app—is currently priced at $4999. The future of that device is unclear given Google’s partnership on these new products.

“Google Workspace users logged more than 1 trillion video minutes in 2020 and the number of Google Meet video users continues to grow, so we are pleased to work with Avocor to bring exciting new hardware options to our customers," said Dave Citron, director of product management for Google Meet and Meet hardware.

The Google Meet Series One Desk 27 from Avocor is expected to be available in late Q4 2021, and the Board 65 in Q1 2022. Both are currently available for pre-order. More information is available at avocor.com/google.