Zoom launches touchscreen device for WFH, to cost $599

Zoom is getting into the hardware business, announcing the Zoom for Home, a touchscreen device designed for home use cases.

Zoom has partnered with teleconferencing device manufacturer DTEN to create the 27-inch device. The DTEN ME features three built-in wide-angle cameras, an 8-microphone array and a touch display capable of screen sharing, whiteboarding, annotating, and ideation. DTEN ME comes pre-loaded with Zoom software and seamlessly connects to anyone with a Zoom Meeting license.

“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,” said Eric S. Yuan, Zoom CEO.

A recent study by IBM revealed that 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 also indicated that they do not foresee a return to pre-Covid ways of working. Additionally, according to a recent study by Morning Consult, almost half of adults who are able to work remotely believe that virtual meetings are at least as effective as in-person meetings.

“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,” said Rich Costello, senior research analyst at tech research firm, IDC.

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Zoom exploded in popularity at the onset of Covid-19 as work-from-home became an imperative. Zoom said in June that sales had jumped 169 per cent year-on-year in the three months to 30 April to $328.2m, as it added more than 180,000 customers with more than 10 employees since January. It also turned a profit of $27m in Q2, more than it made in all of its prior financial year.

The DTEN ME expected to ship in August 2020, and will retail at $599.