Google's weird reality 3D video call “booth” is finally a real product, but you won't be able to buy it
Remember Google's Project Starline, a 3D video of the 3D video “booth” that is said to make you feel like you're talking to another person, as if they were standing in front of you, looking straight into your eyes? After several years of achievements, as an impressive demonstration of research projects, Google has finally made the technology available as a commercial product.
Project Starline was renamed on Google I/O 2025 and is now called Google Beam. The tech giant is stuffed with all the necessary technology – a light field display that creates visual depth for one person on a call and has six cameras built into the three surrounding bezels for head tracking, which is essentially a glasses-free 3D TV.
On a video call with the media the day before the developer meeting, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Beam used AI to merge multiple 2D video streams of a person into a “3D light field with perfect tracking.”
I haven't tried Project Starline or Google Beam, but based on what I've collected from the people I have, the lifelike human avatar approaches the weird valley. Below the webcam, on the windows on their computer screen, your eyes are not underestimated, but they stare directly at you.
A new feature of the beam is near real-time voice translation between two callers. While not exclusive to Beam – the feature was launched in Google Meet started by Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra Ultra subscribers – almost live voice translations started today, while eye contact could create more meaningful connections through a 3D screen. I got the appeal – I did, but the hardware and AI processing power wouldn't be cheap.
While Google doesn't say how much the beam unit costs, it partnered with HP to bring the first beam device to a business “with select customers later this year” and tell you who it is targeting. Read: Companies that can invest a lot of cash in experimenting with next-generation video calling technology. In other words, the beam is intended for enterprise use. Google also said it is working with companies such as Zoom and other companies, including Citadel, Deloitte, Duolingo, Hackensack Meridian Health, NEC, Recruit and Salesforce, and plans to “bring it to their team.”
Look, if Google Beam is in I/O, it's as fascinating as someone who has tried it, I might be rocked. I love the opportunity to see the future – anniversary. But as a consumer tech journalist, he's seeing a larger share of his high-tech enterprise products, if only the cost is not that expensive and you can use consumer apps, I'd say your excitement level is reduced. Beam is a commercial product for large enterprises and until it changes, it is hard to get hyped up for something that most people may never experience. Even if you happen to work at a company that might have a ray in the conference room, are you really going to do your best to use it just to get a more “natural” and more realistic video call? I don't know anyone who really likes on video calls and you want them to want someone to work harder in their personal space? Something tells me that novelty is not worth the hassle when our laptops can make video calls from anywhere, not just in front of a large, heavy 3D TV stand.
