Amazon Echo and Google Nest devices will see their feature list beefed up with a new addition that is ideally suited for the millions of people working from home or observing social distancing right now. It has been revealed that video conferencing service Zoom, which has received a huge uptick in users as countries around the world went into coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, will be coming to a range of smart devices. The Amazon Echo Show, Facebook Portal and Google Nest Hub Max will all be supporting the videoconferencing service.
This marks a big expansion for Zoom, especially considering Google and Facebook have their own video calling offerings with Google Meet and Facebook Messenger.
The aforementioned smart devices will all be implementing Zoom slightly different, with Facebook Portal devices getting a dedicated Zoom app.
This will use Facebook’s ‘smart camera’ tech that’s already used with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to automatically keep you in the frame.
While the Google Nest Hub Max will let you jump into a Zoom meeting already scheduled on your calendar with voice commands such as ‘hey Google, join my next meeting’.
As reported on in a post by The Verge, Alexa will add a similar experience to Echo Show devices that are synced up to your calendar.
With a simple voice command, you will be able to join a Zoom meeting without having to manually input a meeting ID or password. It will also support Alexa voice controls.
While this added functionality all sounds great we can’t help but wondering whether it might be arriving a little bit late.
Facebook Portal is getting Zoom first with a rollout planned for September, while Amazon and Google devices are getting it in “late fall”.
This pencilled in release date leaves a lot of wiggle room, and it could be a few months yet before Echo and Next users get to Zoom via their smart displays.
With countries such as the UK lifting lockdown restrictions, and face-to-face socialising becoming more easier surely the time for this new feature was a few months ago – and not now?
At any rate, the expanded Zoom support will come in handy for the scores of people still working from home – or those who don’t feel comfortable easing social distancing measures just yet.
Speaking about the enhanced support in a blog post, Zoom’s Jeff Smith said: “Zoom from home using Portal from Facebook, Amazon Echo Show, and Google Nest Hub Max.
“Working from home just got simpler. You’ll soon be able to use Zoom at home on your smart display as part of our Zoom for Home program, making interactive video meetings as easy as the touch of a button or the sound of your voice.
“We’re excited to support some of the most widely used smart displays, including Amazon Echo Show, Portal from Facebook, and Google Nest Hub Max, so you can connect by video to colleagues, family, and friends with ease.
“Zoom on Portal will be publicly available in September; Zoom on Amazon Echo Show and Zoom on Nest Hub Max will be available late fall 2020.”
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