Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google released an update for its Meet app.
- The update improves real-time video effects.
- In addition to improving video quality, the update also reduces CPU usage.
When you hop on to a video call, sometimes you don’t want other people to see what’s behind you. To solve this problem, Google Meet has tools like background blur, background replacement, and immersive backgrounds to choose from. In its latest update, Google has greatly improved these effects for users on the web.
Starting today, when users get on Meet, they’ll be able to use background effects that are much more accurate than before thanks to the improved background and foreground separation.
Additionally, Meet now also has the ability to split the work of running real-time video effects between the filming device and the cloud. According to Google, using the device and cloud-based processing together not only improves the visual effects, but also helps to save battery life and CPU usage by up to 30%.
At the moment, the update only supports background blur and light adjustment. However, the improvements are planned to come to other effects later down the line.
Meet has become an invaluable tool for many workers over the last few years and background effects have been great for getting rid of unwanted distractions. However, the quality of these visual tools — like background blur — was often spotty at best, leaving much to be desired. This new update will make background effects look much more professional.
