In order to help its users express themselves, collaborate and manage their communications more efficiently, Zoom has updated its video conferencing software with a host of new upgrades.
These upgrades include enhanced screen annotation for Zoom Meetings and Video Webinars, new hardware solutions for Zoom Rooms, expanded management capabilities for Zoom Chat and a streamlined mass communication solution for Zoom Phone.
As Zoom has added a Vanishing Pen to Zoom Meetings and Video Webinars, users can now highlight text or objects on a shared screen without having to undo or erase highlight annotations. Instead, anything highlighted will disappear over time which allows a presenter to direct participants attention to something on the screen without having to constantly undo or erase their annotations.
- We've put together a list of the best video conferencing software available
- These are the best business webcams for working from home
- Also check out our roundup of the best headsets for conference calls
When it comes to annotating on a tablet or smartphone, Zoom has made it easy to create straight lines and perfect shapes in its mobile app with Whiteboard Auto-shapes. This new feature automatically corrects your annotations into their intended shape and can be a valuable tool for live whiteboarding in training meetings as well as during webinars.
Meeting Reactions and Zoom devices
To help meeting participants express themselves in new ways, Zoom's latest release brings more emoji reactions to its meetings including the ability to choose a skin tone for your emojis.
While the company's software is available with a standard set of six emojis, users can now expand this list to gain access to Zoom's full list of emojis for reactions. However, on larger accounts, the full emoji set must be enabled by admins and account owners.
When it comes to devices, Zoom has made some upgrades to both Zoom Rooms and Zoom Phone. As Facebook has added support for Zoom on its Portal TV webcam, users can now connect with their colleagues, friends and family using their TVs. At the same time though, Zoom Phone customers will now be able to trigger and receive mass notifications using InformaCast from Singlewire Software to stay informed about crisis events and other emergencies.
Although Zoom first rose to mass popularity during the early stages of the pandemic, the company has consistently added new features to its video conferencing service to help it stay ahead of Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and other competitors in the space.
- We've also rounded up all the gear you'll need to work from home successfully
