google’s nest hub max smart screen can now make zoom calls

The Nest Hub Max is now compatible with Zoom. Google announced the integration of the widely-used video conferencing service today via a blog post, stating that deployment has begun for individuals in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

This highly anticipated functionality is being released as an “early preview,” which means users must actively choose to install the firmware update before it becomes generally available – however, the company emphasizes that this is not a software beta and provides a comparable user experience to the full release.

To utilize this feature, owners of a Nest Hub Max require either a complimentary or subscription-based Zoom account. Users must connect their account to the device and include the meeting invitation within their Google Calendar. The functionality will also leverage, when possible, a new capability for Google and Nest Wifi that gives precedence to video conferencing traffic for wireless network capacity.

Zoom joins a number of other video conferencing applications already supported on Facebook’s Portal devices. Amazon revealed in August that the software would be available on its Echo Show devices by the year’s end, but has not yet provided a specific launch date. It’s worth noting that the standard Nest Hub lacks a camera due to privacy considerations.