Zoom introduces new features to make virtual meetings fun; list includes filters, reactions, lighting and more

The company said that the features would be available on Zoom version 5.2.

Zoom new features: Zoom has launched a hoard of new features! Cashing in on the pandemic and the need for video conferencing quite early on, Zoom dominated the market for quite some time before Microsoft and Google started rivalling it. That has since led to a series of one-upmanship and the latest in this trend is a pack of new features that Zoom has brought in, like filters, reactions, lighting, enhanced control on presentations as well as noise cancellation.

With these new features, the company said in a statement, it hopes that casual and fun elements resembling the office culture would enter the world of virtual meetings, ultimately making work from home less of a challenge.

In the statement, Zoom said that it wanted to empower people so that they felt their best while on virtual meetings, while expressing their individuality and having fun.

Zoom: New features detailed

• Filters: Zoom’s new feature would allow users to access several different filters, including unicorn horn, an eye patch, colour filters or a back-and-white one.
• Touch-ups and lighting: Zoom would now allow users to adjust the intensity of touch-ups or lighting, so that the person can be well lit no matter their surroundings. The brightness of the panel and skin smoothing can also be adjusted!
• Noise cancellation: Zoom has improved its noise suppression feature and consequently, the disturbances can now be reduced. So if you have children, pets or a noisy fan, it would not disrupt important meetings. Moreover, soft background music can help during a yoga class, the company said.
• Reactions: Users would now be able to show their reactions like celebrate, laugh or heart. It is simple to use too – the user just has to click on the ‘Reactions’ button and choose the one that expresses how they feel.
• Presentation control: Zoom will now allow users to present their videos as their background, with the presenter being visible along with the presentation – much like a weatherman. This would give the impression of a normal presentation that happens in offices. Moreover, the user can move their own video to any part of the screen and even resize.

The company said that the features would be available on Zoom version 5.2. These features can also be made limited with users disabling meeting filters in their group, account and user levels on the web portal.