Zoom is shutting down its old Chromebook app. The app will no longer be supported after August 2022, the company has warned users. It advises users to move to the Zoom PWA (Progressive Web App) for Chrome OS that it launched in June 2021.
The Zoom app for Chromebooks has been around for several years now. But it is too basic in terms of functionality. You can attend Zoom meetings, and that’s pretty much it. The app hasn’t received any notable update for a long time and lacks several essential features that are available on Zoom apps for other platforms.
To address Chromebook users’ plight, Zoom launched a PWA with additional features last year. It significantly improved the video calling experience on Chrome OS devices. The traditional Chromebook app also existed alongside the new PWA so far. But the company is now pulling the plug on it for good.
The old Zoom app for Chromebooks is built on the aging “Chrome app” technology. In August 2020, Google announced that it would phase out Chrome apps on all platforms. It ended support for Windows, Mac, and Linux in June 2021. As of this month, the company is killing Chrome apps on Chrome OS too. It will no longer accept new apps, with Chrome Web Store delisting all existing apps that will now become private.
As such, it was only a matter of time for Zoom’s traditional Chromebook app to call it a day. The company has now started showing warning notices to Chromebook users still relying on the outdated app for their video conferencing needs.
“This app will no longer be officially supported after August 2022. Please use the new Zoom for Chrome PWA to join meetings on Chrome OS,” the notice reads (via).
The Zoom PWA for Chromebooks is an upgrade over the traditional app
The new PWA that Zoom launched a year ago can do everything that the traditional app does. Additionally, it offers modern features that you get on the video conferencing app on other platforms such as live transcription, background blur, video backgrounds, live translation, and more. It has a similar UI too. Zoom also regularly updates the PWA to patch bugs, add new features, and improve the overall user experience.
If you’re using the old Zoom app on your Chromebook, it’s about time you switch to the new PWA. You can click the button below to download the latest version of the PWA from the Google Play Store.
2022-06-20 15:06:44