The phone gyroscope also participates in meetings now
One never knows when they may need to hop on a video call, but virtual backgrounds usually save the day. They’ve improved since they were introduced, working well on the best video calling apps even without a dedicated green screen. Google is now pushing the envelope a little further by introducing 360-degree video backgrounds for Google Meet on mobile.
Unlike most computers, smartphones contain a bunch of onboard sensors, including a gyroscope. Meet can use this gyroscope data to make a handful of virtual backgrounds that move around if you move your phone — it’s like standing in the center of a Photo Sphere shot on Google Camera. The 360-degree video backgrounds change dynamically and can emulate a natural environment in your background minus distractions.
Google says there are several options to pick from, including a beach and a temple scene. The new backgrounds are accessible under the Effects settings tab for Meet on Android, right alongside other interactive virtual backgrounds.
While a live video background can be more engaging and lively than a static image and much more private than an artificially blurred background, it may not be ideal if you often move your phone around while in meetings.
That said, the new 360-degree virtual backgrounds are rolling out to everyone with a Gmail account. However, admins can turn off virtual backgrounds for people in their organizational group through the Google Admin Console, and this includes the new 360-degree video backgrounds. The recent addition may take up to a month to show up and isn’t available on any of our devices yet, so hold your horses if you are in a similar situation.
