San Francisco, Aug 11 (IANS): After announcing that Google has combined two of its video-calling apps -- Duo and Meet -- into a single platform, the tech giant said this upgrade gives everyone access to new features like scheduling and joining meetings, virtual backgrounds, in-meeting chat and more, in addition to your current video calling features.

The company said additional meeting features let users start an instant video call with their entire study group or connect with their colleagues at a recurring scheduled time.Before they join a meeting, they can change their background or apply visual effects.

During the meeting, they will also be able to use in-meeting chat and captions for more ways to participate.

"We are also launching live sharing for Google Meet. Live sharing allows all meeting participants to interact with the content that is being shared," Dave Citron, Director of Product Management, Google Duo and Google Meet, said in a blogpost.

"So whether you are co-watching videos on YouTube, curating a playlist on Spotify, taking turns while playing games like Heads Up!, UNO! Mobile or Kahoot! During an ice breaker, everyone will be able to join in on the action," Citron added.

Over the past few weeks, the company said it has started rolling out these new features to the Duo app, and now, users are beginning to see their app name and icon updated to Google Meet.

This upgrade will take place throughout the month across mobile and tablet devices and will come later for other devices. To ensure a smooth transition, keep your app updated to the latest version.