Why You Can Trust CNET Zoom finally gets a smart TV app (but only on the newest, fanciest Amazon TVs)
Amazon's new Omni TVs will get Zoom support later this year.
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Amazon's first self-built smart TV sets include the Omni series, which is getting Zoom support later this year.
Zoom's first dedicated app for smart TVs will roll out later this year on Amazon's coming Omni series of Fire TV-branded sets -- part of the first generation of Amazon-branded televisions -- the retailer said Thursday.
The Fire TV Omni smart TVs are available to order from Amazon and Best Buy ahead of their Oct. 27 release date; they start at $410 for a 43-inch model and top out at $1,100 for a 75-inch model that supports Dolby Vision. (The 50-inch model of the Omni series has a $110 discount "for a limited time during the introductory period," according to Amazon.) Zoom support is said to be available for the Omni series "later this year," Amazon said, without specifying a date.
Zoom became synonymous with COVID-19 lockdown life last year, its Brady Bunch gallery of video feeds virtually replacing work meetings, family gatherings and friend hangouts that were impossible to hold in person during social distancing. Though Zoom has been widely available on platforms for mobile devices and computers throughout the pandemic, the service has never been available on connected televisions with its own app, until the Omni series arrives next month.
Previously, people who wanted to view their Zooms on a TV screen would generally need to employ another computing device to run the software, then would need to cast, AirPlay or otherwise screen-share the meeting on their TV -- though Amazon already has support for Zoom on its Fire TV Cube, a streaming-media box.
"At work, you know how many people you can get on the screen at once if you have 10, 12, 20 people trying to join a call. It's pretty great to be able to use that largest screen in your home," said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon entertainment devices and services, said in an interview Tuesday.
