Google Meet gains automatic low light mode; here’s how users will benefit

Google Meet web version is gaining support for a useful feature that is currently available on the company’s apps for smartphones, allowing users to use the service even when ideal lighting is unavailable. Google is adding an artificial intelligence-powered low-light mode that will brighten the video in dark locations. The feature, which exists on both Google Meet and Google Duo for smartphones, is now arriving on the web version of the popular video meeting service.

The new Google Meet feature will be automatically enabled for users who are located in an area that lacks ample lighting. The service will “intelligently adapt, for example increasing enhancements as lighting conditions worsen and turns processing off when lighting conditions improve” according to Google. This suggests that users who later move to an area with enough lighting will see the feature turn off automatically.

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However, it looks like using the new Google Meet feature will come at some cost, and older devices might be affected the most by this new automatic low light feature on the web, according to Google. The company says that users could see their devices slow down while using the feature. This can happen on older devices that do not have the processing power to handle such a feature, in which case users can simply disable the low light mode by starting a new call from the browser, and using the Settings options to disable Video Lighting. This can be found in the Video settings before a user joins a call, and can be useful for users running older computers and laptops.

Meanwhile, Google says that the automatic low light mode will come to Google Workspace, G Suite Basic, and G Suite Business users, which covers all Google account holders. Users will be able to access it on all of their devices within 15 days, according to the company, and workplace administrators will not be able to control the setting, although as previously mentioned, users will still be able to turn the feature on and off after it has been enabled for their account.