Add bad translations to the list of excuses for why you missed that work or school Zoom call — the videoconferencing app is bringing real-time live subtitling and live translations to free Zoom accounts by the end of 2022. The translation services will cover 12 languages and the subtitling will extend to almost 30 additional languages.
The new features are part of many that were announced in the company’s latest annual ‘Zoomtopia’ conference (lookout, Apple). The other additions involve a change to Zoom’s whiteboard feature where you can share virtual whiteboards during meetings. The company is planning to develop a separate whiteboard app while also integrating it into Facebook’s (FB) VR Workrooms experience.
Why it matters
While some of this stuff like VR whiteboards is speculative, things like real-time translations show that Zoom is really breaking the box people think it might be in — it’s clearly expanding well beyond being just a video app with cat filters. Despite the news, it seems investors aren’t impressed as Zoom stocks closed off yesterday at a 0.3% dip.