Improve User Experience, This Is Zoom's New Feature Set

Zoom has increased in popularity during the pandemic. (photo: Iyus Sugiharto/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The video conferencing app Zoom has just launched new features and enhancements on its platform. This is not only to beat the competition, but also aims to improve the user experience.

This new set of Zoom features allows users to communicate and express themselves better. As part of the update, Zoom is rolling out enhanced screen annotations for Zoom Meetings and Zoom Video Webinars, better management capabilities for Zoom Chat, and more.

Zoom has exploded in popularity during the pandemic, with millions of people and companies around the world using it for virtual meetings and communication purposes. Serious security lapses were discovered on Zoom at first, but since then, the company has been working to improve its security protections. The following is a series of Zoom's new features quoted from MakeUsOf, Tuesday 13 July.

1. Improved Annotations

Zoom now allows users to highlight text or objects on a shared screen without having to manually remove highlighted annotations. Users can use the Vanishing Pen to highlight text or objects, with the highlight disappearing after a few seconds.

That feature will ensure that users can temporarily direct the viewer's attention to text or objects while in a virtual meeting or call. The Vanishing Pen feature in Zoom is currently available on Windows, macOS, and Linux clients.

Zoom also makes annotations easier on its mobile app with its whiteboard shapes feature. This will automatically straighten the lines and create the perfect shape for your annotations.

2. Various New Emojis

In addition to annotation improvements, Zoom added new emojis so users can better express themselves in meetings. Apart from that, users can also choose the skin color for the emoji. Keep in mind that admins and account owners must enable full emoji sets on video calls on Zoom. Otherwise, the user will be limited to six emojis in the call.

3. Integrated TV Portal

Apart from that, Zoom also highlighted that Portal TV has added Zoom support. Facebook first announced Zoom support for its TV Portal in the second week of April. Likewise, the Amazon Echo Show 10 also received support for Zoom Meetings in early April.

4. Immersive View for Zoom on Windows and macOS

Zoom on Windows and macOS has gained support for immersive viewing. This will allow users to place video participants on a single virtual background. Meeting hosts also have the option to use their own custom background.

For Zoom Phone subscribers, Zoom has added the ability to receive bulk notifications using InformaCast so users can stay informed about emergency events. This feature will allow organizations to quickly send emergency notifications for the safety of their employees.

5. Security Fix

Lastly, the Zoom update also fixes an issue where certain users could report crashes when switching audio devices. Fixed a bug that prevented someone from ending a webinar without permission.