As you may see within the embedded GIF, the 360-degree background will change relying on the place your cellphone or pill’s positioned. So, in the event you transfer your cellphone left or proper, your background will alter to indicate totally different surroundings. Google says customers can apply “a number of” new 360-degree backgrounds throughout video calls, together with one which reveals a seaside and one other with a temple.
Whereas the function does look fairly cool, I can see how these backgrounds would possibly get distracting in the event you’re on a name with somebody who’s continuously transferring their cellphone round. Nonetheless, they’re nonetheless most likely not as obnoxious as Meet’s assortment of Snapchat-like filters — which at present contains one which turns you right into a cat and one other that places your face on a strawberry.
Final month, Google began rolling out emoji reactions for Meet, together with the center, thumbs-up, social gathering popper, clap, pleasure, astonished, considering, cry, and thumbs-down emoji, however it nonetheless has a protracted option to go if it desires to meet up with Zoom’s full library of reactions. Google’s additionally within the strategy of progressively transitioning customers to the brand new Meet app that mixes the options of Duo, and despatched out its remaining warnings final month because it prepares to modify customers over.