What you need to know
- Google Meet introduces new personalization options with a redesigned UI, featuring tabs for backgrounds, filters, and appearance adjustments.
- Users can now apply backgrounds and filters simultaneously, with a new "layer" icon to manage and remove effects.
- Google also introduces Studio lighting on the web, offering an auto option and customizable settings for lighting position, brightness, and color.
- Meanwhile, the new Studio sound feature uses AI to enhance audio frequencies, addressing poor audio quality from Bluetooth headsets and dial-in participants.
Spicing up your appearance during a Google Meet call is getting a whole lot simpler, thanks to a new round of updates rolling out now to the video conference service.
Google says you can now mix and match background and filter effects to amp up how you look during a virtual meeting. The idea is to let you play around and find the perfect combo of effects that captures your vibe.
You can keep track of your chosen effects on Google Meet with a new layer icon on your self-view tile. Just hit the icon if you want to ditch a particular effect or wipe the slate clean. This handy tool works seamlessly on the mobile and web versions of Google Meet.
On top of that, Meet's user interface has received a facelift, sporting a three-tab layout to make your life easier. Google even sorted the video effects by categories. Take "Backgrounds," for example—they're neatly grouped based on the type of scene you're after.
"Filters" have gotten the same treatment too—now neatly categorized into funny, accessories, characters, and costumes. Meanwhile, the "Appearance" tab is your one-stop shop for brightening up, finding your best angle, or cranking up the video quality.
Google Meet has also gained some upgrades for the web version of Studio lighting and sound. The Studio lighting feature, powered by the Duet AI for Google Workspace Enterprise add-on, promises studio-quality lighting to let you tweak the lighting position, brightness, and color to your heart's content.
As for Studio Sound, Google Meet will recreate higher audio frequencies using AI. It's available for meetings on the web and dial-in with the Duet AI for Google Workspace Enterprise add-on. The company vows to release support for the mobile app in the coming weeks.
If you're gunning for that studio-quality upgrade in lighting on Meet, make sure your hardware is compatible. Google says your processor needs to be as good as or better than the likes of the Intel Core i9-9880H, Intel Core i5-1235U, AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, or Apple M1.
The fresh updates are rolling out as we speak, starting with the Rapid Release domains. Meanwhile, all Google Workspace users can now combine multiple video effects.
