“The hardware has to be all-in-one, without much assembly,” said Jeff Smith, director of Zoom Rooms, the company’s conference room system (to be clear, the Zoom product for the home is not the same as Zoom Rooms, which is a separate subscription-based product made for office conference rooms only.) Smith contrasts that with other enterprise-grade configurations that often require multiple pieces of hardware, such as separate cameras, sound bars, and monitors. Although not specifically made for consumers, Zoom for Home hardware is definitely designed to be easy to use.
As for setup and installation, that varies a bit depending on your organization. If you work in a corporate environment, for example, your IT group might set it up primarily for you. When you receive the hardware at home, you can plug it in, enter some details about your local WiFi network, log in, and you’re good to go, with all your Zoom settings and calendars in sync. The IT administrator could manage software versions and control some of the settings remotely.
If you work for yourself or are in the consumer / prosumer category, the process is also relatively simple, but with a few additional steps. You would have to sync the calendars on your own, for example, and configure the settings yourself, but Smith said that none of them requires in-depth technical knowledge.
Another key differentiator between the Zoom for Home product and the typical conference room system is the interface. For one thing, the conference room software is designed to be shared with multiple people, Smith said, while affirming that Zoom for Home is highly personalized. Also, anyone with a Zoom account can use Home Zoom; you do not need to have a paid subscription or a Zoom Meeting license. Even those with a basic (free) Zoom account can use it.
Focus
When you sign in to a Zoom for Home device, you will see your profile photo in the upper left corner, indicating that it is your account. It will automatically sync with your calendar, so you can see a list of your upcoming appointments right on the screen. Your contacts are also synced, from which you can set a set of “favorites” for the people you chat with most often. What’s more, since the Zoom for Home device could be used in a family environment, it also has a PIN code lock feature, so your kids can’t play with it.
Last but not least, one of the key requirements of Zoom for Home products is that they must be affordable. “You can’t have a $ 10,000 workstation for every employee,” said Smith. Instead, the Zoom for Home DTEN ME is priced at around $ 599. While that’s more expensive than even high-end consumer smart displays: the Google Nest Hub Max costs $ 229, the 10-inch Echo Show does, too. It retails for $ 229 (currently $ 180), and the Grand Portal + costs $ 279 – the DTEN ME is also significantly larger at 27 inches wide, plus it has the multiple cameras mentioned above, microphones, and a touchscreen interface. It’s not cheap, of course, and one could argue that using a laptop is probably enough for most people. But if he spends most of his day in video conferencing, then a dedicated device for him might make more sense.
Focus
Also, the Zoom Home system shouldn’t really look like a smart display. It lacks some of the more consumer-centric features like YouTube, Weather, Smart Home Controls, and Photo Album Integrations. It also doesn’t have voice commands like Google Assistant or Alexa. In contrast, Zoom for Home is highly video conferencing oriented and not much else.
But that doesn’t mean it’s just for work. As even Smith admits, people now use Zoom for much more than just meetings. They are used for gym classes or virtual happy hours or to go out with friends. And there’s no reason Zoom for Home can’t be used for that, too. You could potentially install it in your living room instead of the office.
“From a message and position perspective, Zoom for the Home is a lot of work first,” said Smith. “But, you know, Zoom as a platform is expanding to many different use cases. Last year, you never would have imagined a fitness instructor using Zoom. But now, there are all kinds of uses, and they are all very applicable to Zoom for Home as well. “
Zoom plans to add additional features to its hardware later. For example, Smith said the face-tracking technology found in the Portal and Nest Hub Max could eventually make it to Zoom devices. “There are a lot of smart camera features found in this particular product roadmap, and we have that absolutely in mind,” he said.
Zoom for Home DTEN ME is available for pre-order now, and is expected to ship in August this year.
