As you can see in the embedded GIF, the 360-degree background will change depending on where your phone or tabletâs positioned. So, if you move your phone left or right, your background will adjust to show different scenery. Google says users can apply âseveralâ new 360-degree backgrounds during video calls, including one that shows a beach and another with a temple.
While the feature does look pretty cool, I can see how these backgrounds might get distracting if youâre on a call with someone whoâs constantly moving their phone around. However, theyâre still probably not as obnoxious as Meetâs collection of Snapchat-like filters â which currently includes one that turns you into a cat and another that puts your face on a strawberry.
Last month, Google started rolling out emoji reactions for Meet, including the heart, thumbs-up, party popper, clap, joy, astonished, thinking, cry, and thumbs-down emoji, but it still has a long way to go if it wants to catch up with Zoomâs complete library of reactions. Googleâs also in the process of gradually transitioning users to the new Meet app that combines the features of Duo, and sent out its final warnings last month as it prepares to switch users over.