At the height of the pandemic, the video-conferencing app Zoom blew up to an extent that its team likely never envisioned a year or two before. In fact, the entire video-conferencing market benefited a lot from people having to work, even when cooped up at home.
Google Meet managed to get a boost from this as well but most of the people around me aren’t massive fans of the video-calling platform and that might be because it’s never been the most fully-featured app in its segment. That’s about to change with the new updates that Google is rolling out.
Google Meet Is Getting A New Look And A Bunch Of New Video Call Features
Google Meet is Google’s dedicated video calling platform, whether you’re just trying to call a friend to catch up or you need to have a meeting with the Board of Directors. However, it is hard to say it has the best feature set among its competition. That might change, as Google has decided to pay some much-needed attention to the app.
The App Gets A Clean, New Video Call Interface
If you’ve always felt like the call interface in Google Meet was a bit dated, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, it seems like Google devs agree with you because that’s where one of the changes has been made in the app.
The interface is now fresh and new, getting rid of some unnecessary clutter for a cleaner appearance. It is also so much easier to access features like live captions and real-time chat during the call or meeting.
You Can Now Stack Effects And React With Emoji
Do you like to have fun on your video calls? No problem, you can use all sorts of backgrounds, filters, and effects. However, the real big change here is that you can finally stack these effects. This means you’re not limited to just using a background or a hat. Now you can use a background AND a hat.
When listening in at meetings, you don’t always have to interject to applaud something that someone said or to laugh at a dad joke. You can send an emoji to represent your reaction without breaking the flow.
Google Meet On Mobile Can Now Use Screen Sharing
Needless to say, there are plenty of times when you’ll need to share something that you’re looking at with the person on the other end of the call. You can do that easily on Google Meet on a desktop, and now, you can finally do it on mobile platforms as well (even WhatsApp video calls have had screen sharing).
That’ll come in handy when trying to teach your old uncle how to turn off his phone’s flashlight.
On-The-Go Mode Has Been Introduced On Mobile
Finally, Google Meet has finally introduced an “on-the-go” mode for video calls on Android and iOS devices. What this does is basically switch the call to an audio-only mode that makes it more like an audio call and lets you keep moving about without needing to focus on the video.
The buttons are larger and much easier to press, and this generally makes it easier for you to stay on Google Meet video calls even when you can’t give it your full attention.
