Google says its Project Starline team shrunk the 3D video chat tech from the size of a booth to a large TV, which Salesforce, T-Mobile, and WeWork are testing
Context & Ripple Effects
Project Starline has followed a slow commercialization arc: Google unveiled it at I/O 2021 as a purpose-built video booth with a 65-inch display and a rack of sensors and cameras, then began installing booths for select partners including Salesforce, WeWork, and T-Mobile in late 2022 (partner installations).
The shrink from room-sized booth to large-TV footprint removes Starline's biggest deployment blocker — it no longer needs dedicated space — and sets up the planned HP-built hardware launch in 2025 with Zoom and Meet support, turning a research showcase into shippable enterprise gear.
First-order effects
- Salesforce, T-Mobile, and WeWork can now pilot the technology on ordinary office displays instead of dedicating rooms to custom booths, lowering the cost and friction of each test site.
Second-order effects
- A TV-sized form factor makes HP's role as launch hardware partner viable — booth-scale gear could never ship through a PC maker's channel — and pressures Zoom and Meet integration to become table stakes for enterprise adoption.
Third-order effects
- If 3D telepresence follows the same miniaturize-then-commoditize path as flat-panel video conferencing before it, presence hardware consolidates around standard display makers while differentiation moves to the sensing and compression software layer.
The trend: Enterprise telepresence is moving from bespoke room installations toward commodity-display hardware sold through established OEM channels.