Zoom’s latest update will provide more screen annotations for Zoom Meetings and Zoom Video Webinars, new hardware solutions for Zoom Rooms, expanded management capabilities for Zoom Chat, and a streamlined mass communication solution for Zoom Phone. Along with these, the video chatting service has also gained a few other features such as more emojis and Vanishing Pen Annotation tool. It has also resolved some reported issues. Zoom has gained massive popularity as a video chatting service ever since the coronavirus-induced pandemic restricted everyone to their homes in 2020.
Zoom announced its latest update through a blog post on April 20. It details all the new features that Zoom will be getting in the latest update. The full changelog can be found here. New emoji reactions have been added that will now be available in Zoom’s library of emojis. Users can also select the skin tone for the emoji. For larger accounts, the meeting host or admin will have to enable access to all emoji reactions or it can be limited to the standard set of six emojis.
With Vanishing Pen Annotation, users can now add highlights or annotate things on the screen without having to undo or erase them. By using the Vanishing Pen tool, the annotations will automatically disappear after a while. This feature is available for both Zoom Meetings and Zoom Video Webinars on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Other new features include Whiteboard Auto-shapes feature on the Android and iOS apps. It will automatically correct users’ annotations on mobile devices to their intended shapes. The company also said that its Zoom Phone customers can trigger and receive mass notifications using InformaCast from Singlewire Software that will inform them about imminent crises that may affect their wellbeing.
Recently, Facebook has added support for Zoom on its Portal TV. This will allow users to take their Zoom calls while sitting on their couch. Zoom account owners and admins can also add a user’s manager to appear on their employees’ profiles.
Is OnePlus 9R old wine in a new bottle — or something more? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Later (starting at 23:00), we talk about the new OnePlus Watch. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.