Google Meet gets a Material You makeover

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Many Google apps have received the sleek and customizable Material You treatment, but Google Meet remained an outlier. Finally, a refresh is on the horizon! The Google Workspace blog announced a series of upcoming improvements to Meet's user interface (UI), starting with the in-call controls.

Expect visual enhancements like a colour refresh and "dynamic shapes" that visually indicate call status (muted, active speaker, etc.). While seemingly minor, this update promises a cleaner and more intuitive experience.

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Google Meet gets smarter audio

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Google Workspace is upping its video conferencing game with "adaptive audio," a new feature coming to Google Meet that eliminates the need for bulky equipment in many situations (for users with access to advanced features).

This innovative tech automatically detects when multiple laptops are in the same room and seamlessly merges their microphones and speakers. Imagine a meeting where everyone can be heard clearly without having to huddle around a single device! Adaptive audio also reduces echoes and feedback, ensuring a smooth audio experience.

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Google Meet on desktop gains face touch-up filters

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Google Meet's desktop app now has face touch-up filters, letting you slightly adjust your appearance before meetings. This feature, available on mobile since last year, offers two filters: subtle (light smoothing, under-eye lightening) and smoothing (more intense version). Unlike some video apps, Google focuses on natural-looking enhancements.

To enable it, navigate to "Apply visual effects" > "Appearance" in Google Meet. Here, you can turn on "Portrait touch-up" and choose a filter. It is available globally. However, it's only for these specific Google accounts: Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus Education Plus Teaching & Learning Upgrade, Google One, and Google Workspace Individual clients.

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Google Meet update can automatically frame your video

Source: Google

If you want to ensure you're not off-centre in your next Google Meet session, the app has an update for you. That is if you are a Google Workspace Business, Enterprise, Education, and Google One subscriber with a 2TB or more account. (You can check out the complete list here.) Before you join a session, the app can automatically frame your video to put you at the centre. But you can also manually reframe the video at any time from the settings. This feature is disabled by default. It's coming to Rapid Release domains first right now, then to Scheduled Release domains starting November 2.