Lots of new features coming to Google Meet, Big G's free video conferencing platform that challenges Zoom Meetings and Microsoft Teams.
Since Google made its Meet video conferencing platform free for everyone, previously reserved for paid business users only, it has continued to improve it to keep up with competitors like Zoom Meetings or Microsoft Teams.
Now Google announces more news, which will please both types of Meet users: those who use the platform to make important business conferences and those who use it instead to stay in touch with family and friends. In a post on its official blog Big G has in fact shown the new interface and some new features and improvements to Meet, which are being released globally and will reach everyone in a few weeks (probably not all at once, but gradually). The interface changes, the technical platform improves, and virtual wallpapers arrive that can increase the fun when we use Meet with our loved ones, but can also allow us to hide the real wallpaper during business video calls.
Google Meet, how the interface changes
The new Google Meet interface is simpler, cleaner, and more functional. Google ha capito che doveva ottimizzare lo spazio, per sprecarne meno possibile in caso di videochiamate su schermi piccoli e con molti partecipanti.
La novità si vede soprattutto quando condividiamo il nostro schermo con gli altri o vediamo con loro dei contenuti: possiamo bloccare un contenuto o sbloccarlo, possiamo fissarlo in un punto dello schermo e fissare anche il video di chi lo sta presentando.
Allo stesso modo, quando siamo noi a presentare qualcosa agli altri e condividiamo il nostro video, possiamo scegliere dove posizionare e come ridimensionare la finestrella del nostro flusso video, affinché non si sovrapponga ad altri flussi o al materiale che stiamo presentando agli altri.
Google Meet, arriva il Data Saver
Come già annunciato nei giorni scorsi, ma solo ora è ufficiale, Google sta introducendo la funzione “Data Saver“. This is an optimization of the audio-video stream (more information here) aimed at maintaining high quality and stability of the video call even on slow connections or consumption.
This way the data flow is lower and doesn't create problems in case of slow connections (and costs us less if the connection is on consumption).
Google Meet, the virtual wallpapers
Last month Google made it possible to replace the wallpaper with questions/answers and polls for Meet, but only on Android and iOS devices. In the coming weeks, the ability to replace the wallpaper with a video will also arrive. That is, virtual wallpapers are coming.
As it already happens on other platforms that adopt them, virtual wallpapers on Meet can also increase privacy or make video calls more fun. It starts small, with only three backgrounds available: a classroom, a party and a forest, others will arrive soon.