Google Meet offers 360-degree virtual backgrounds for video calls

As you possibly can see within the embedded GIF, the 360-degree background will change primarily based on the place your cellphone or pill is positioned. So, should you transfer your cellphone left or proper, your background will probably be set to indicate completely different landscapes. Google says customers can apply “a number of” new 360-degree backgrounds throughout video calls, together with one other that reveals a seaside and a temple.

Whereas this function sounds fairly cool, I can see how these backgrounds can distract you should you’re on a name with somebody whose cellphone is consistently transferring. That stated, they’re most likely not as obnoxious as Meet’s assortment of Snapchat-like filters – it presently consists of one other one which turns you right into a cat and turns your face right into a strawberry.

Final month, Google began rolling out emoji reactions for Meet, together with the guts, like, social gathering blaster, clap, pleasure, shock, pondering, crying, and thumbs-down emoji, nevertheless it nonetheless has a protracted strategy to go. It desires to maintain up with Zoom’s full response library. Google can be within the strategy of regularly migrating customers to the brand new Meet app that mixes Duo’s options, and final month despatched out its closing warnings because it prepares to modify customers.