- Zoom video calls are coming to smart displays powered by Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
- You can join a Zoom meeting just by using your voice.
- Portal users get the feature in September, while Nest Hub Max and Echo Show owners won’t see it until the fall.
You’ll soon have the option to handle your Zoom video calls on a smart display, and you won’t have to be too picky about which device you use.
Zoom has announced that video calls are coming to popular smart displays, including the Google Nest Hub Max, Amazon Echo Show series, and Facebook Portal models. You can start an important business meeting or virtual class without tying up your computer or a mobile device, and in many cases will only need to issue a single command. You can tell Alexa or Google Assistant to “join my Zoom meeting,� while Portal will have a single-tap “join meeting� button.
This works with free and paid Zoom accounts. Portal users are also receiving collaboration tools like BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, and WebEx.
See also: The best smart displays
It could take a while to get the options depending on your choice of smart screen. Portal users will get Zoom and other collaboration features through updates starting in September. Nest Hub Max and Echo Show users will have to wait until late fall, however, and the Amazon rollout will only start with the Echo Show 8.
The additions reflect the reality of a pandemic where working and learning at home are commonplace. To some extent, it’s also an acknowledgment that smart displays benefit from having multiple video chat services. Amazon, Google, and Facebook all launched their devices with a focus on their proprietary video chat features, but that clearly creates problems if friends and family prefer different platforms. Options like Zoom provide a common service many people can use, and not just for school or work.