Zoom's latest update is a game changer

Zoom just announced that Zoom apps aka Zapps are now available for public use, which means that now you can use apps like Miro, Mural, Hive to collaborate with your remote team and have fun with them using games like Heads up! and Kahoot inside a zoom call, here is all you need to know about Zoom's game changing update:

Disclaimer: This article talks about the zoom marketplace in general and not the apps on the marketplace, as we were yet to fully test the zapps and its features, but I would update this blog when we write about them.

What do zoom apps offer and how do we install one?

Source: Zoom Apps landing page

Since the zoom app marketplace is still in its early days (as of writing this), we can expect a lot of changes to come in a short amount of time, so here is the link to the app market place for a better idea - https://marketplace.zoom.us/apps?category=zoomapp

But as of now popular apps like Asana, Miro, Survey Monkey, Kahoot and Heads up! are a few familiar names which you could add in your zoom call .

As for Installation, here are a few common requirements which I noticed in most cases (Subject to change as Zoom apps is in its early stage)

1) You must have an account of the required app to use it in zoom (in some cases, the same is might be needed for participants as well).

2) You must be a co-host or a meeting host to use it.

3) The app developer might take some data of the meeting, depending on their use case.

Steps for installation of a ZApp:

1) Make sure that your zoom app is up to date 2) Initially, one needs to first download a zapp from the zoom marketplace website or the zoom apps option on the app (I only got the option of the marketplace after I downloaded one zapp from the website, but that mightn't be needed now or probably a lapse on my end)

3) Grant necessary permissions to the app (in case they seem sketchy, then probably not lol)

4) Voila!, you can now find your apps in the zoom apps section, which might look like this:

Certain things I didn't like

1) Some really cool apps had some redirect error and I couldn't download them, which might be fixed by the time you are reading this but just a heads up, in case the issue is there. 2) There is no clear onboarding process as of now, which might make it difficult for non techie people to onboard.

3) It's currently limited to MacOS and Windows devices only

My take and Zapp recommendations

This is an idea with a lot of potential, in case zoom uses it to its advantage and continues to improve the experience of this, it could leave all of its competition far behind. All the apps available at the moment show a lot of potential and can make our zoom meetings a lot more fun but some notable mentions were Polly, Dot collector, Hive notes, Heads up, Kahoot and Ask away. We at Kinetech are looking forward to more updates regarding this and we might be publishing particular zapp reviews and guides very soon, so make sure to stay tuned for that by following us @kinetechblog on Twitter and Instagram.

Resources: Zoom app marketplace - https://marketplace.zoom.us/apps?category=zoomapp