Google Meet visual redesign incoming with auto-exposure tools, speaker highlighting, more

In a new Keyword blog post, Google took time to highlight some awesome, new feature updates for Google Meet that should go a long way toward making it more useful and more fun too. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the company has transformed the service into a powerhouse for connecting people across the world, especially in the context of education and workplaces. These new features will roll out beginning next month

To kick things off, an updated visual refresh will add more space for sharing and viewing content with a group of people by allowing you to pin and unpin content in fresh, new ways. For example, you will be able to highlight a specific speaker or presentation, or even multiple at a time. In doing so, you won’t lose any clarity on who’s who because their names will remain visible despite the new layout.

In addition to these changes, you’ll also be able to resize, reposition or even hide your own video feed. It’s much easier to focus on what you’re saying when you’re not looking at yourself, right? That extra free space can be used to display more of the other participants you’re addressing, making it feel much more personable.

A new automatic exposure feature will intelligently identify a user’s camera brightness and visibility and make changes to it on the fly. I just want to say that this is incredibly clever. Now, anyone without perfect lighting can still make due in a pinch and it’s all thanks to Google Meet!

Lastly, Google is adding fun new backgrounds for mobile and the web as an extension of its ‘background replace’, Q&A, and Polls features. Over the next few weeks, it’s adding the ability for you to replace your background with more than just a picture. Instead, you’ll be able to swap out what’s behind you for a live video! Some examples include a classroom and a forest. These two will be available at launch, with more to come.