Zoom for Home personal collaboration device debuts for $599

The popular virtual conferencing service Zoom is venturing into the hardware space with an all-in-one personal collaboration device. Priced at $599, the Zoom for Home is a 27-inch screen housing multiple mics and cameras along with the video conferencing software onboard that can seamlessly connect with anyone with a Zoom Meeting licence, and will start shipping in August this year. Developed in partnership with DTEN, the idea behind the Zoom for Home is to create an immersive and productive workspace.

"With employers and employees working through what the future of work will look like, it is important that people feel set up for success. Three months ago, it was making sure employees had the right ergonomic setup. We've now moved to the phase of making sure employees have the right devices to enable productivity. The Zoom from Home category is a powerful way for the company to reach a work-from-home audience that craves tools to help with engagement, connection and collaboration," says Rich Costello, Senior Research Analyst, IDC.

On the hardware front, Zoom for Home features a 27-inch 1080p LED touch display along with three built-in wide-angle cameras for high-resolution video, an 8-microphone array for audio in meetings and phone calls, an HDMI port and an Ethernet LAN port. With 104mm thickness, it weights 6.5kg. Powered by DTEN OS, it can be used for video conferencing, whiteboarding and annotation, phone calling and as a second monitor.

"After experiencing remote work ourselves for the past several months, it was clear that we needed to innovate a new category dedicated to remote workers. I'm so proud of the team for continuing to think outside the box and prove why Zoom is the best unified communications platform that can meet the needs of all types of users," says Eric S Yuan, Zoom CEO.

Zoom says this hardware is compatible with all Zoom Rooms Appliances, including other hardware solutions from Neat and Poly, allowing users to select the hardware they need to create the perfect work-from-home communications experience across spaces such as living rooms and mounted displays.

According to a recent study by IMB, 81 per cent of respondents - up from 75 per cent in April - indicated they want to continue working remotely at least some of the time. More than half - 61 per cent - would like this to become their primary way of working. Major corporations around the globe have already indicated that they do not foresee a return to pre-COVID ways of working.