Credit: Google
It’s been a little more than a month since Google Meet made its debut on the Google Nest Hub and Google Nest Hub Max, and now comes word that the Zoom—the video conferencing app of the COVID era—is about to join the Google smart display party.
Google just announced that Zoom will arrive on the Google Nest Hub, the Nest Hub Max, and other Google Assistant-enabled smart displays by the “end of the year.”
As with the recent Google Meet integration, users will be able to join Zoom calls in their calendars by saying “Hey Google, join my next meeting,” or you’ll be able to tap “Join with Zoom” on an Assistant reminder card.
Both free and paid Zoom users will be able to make or join Zoom calls on their Google displays, Google added.
It’s not clear how many participants will be supported for Zoom calls on Google displays. For Google Meet calls, you can chat with up to 100 people on the Google Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max, while Google Duo (which used to only support one-on-one calls on a Google display) can handle groups of up to 32 people.
The news of Zoom’s impending arrival on Google smart displays puts more pressure on Amazon’s Echo displays, which—for now, anyway—only support one-on-one video calls via Skype.
Meanwhile, Facebook’s Portal smart displays are capable of group video calls, but only for up to eight people via Facebook Messenger or four people for WhatsApp.
Google announced group calling on its Google smart displays via Google Meet and Duo in late June.
While Google Meet calls are restricted to the Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max for now, group Duo calls are supported on both first-party and third-party Google Assistant displays, including Lenovo’s 8- and 10-inch Smart Displays, the LG XBOOM AI ThinkQ WK9 Smart Display, and the JBL Link View.
