Zoom app for Chromebooks gains better virtual background support, more

Ben Schoon | Apr 25 2022 - 7:57 am PT

Zoom launched its revamped Chromebook app last year with some big upgrades, but it was still a limited experience compared to other platforms. As a part of its latest updates, the Zoom PWA for Chromebook app has picked up better support for virtual background options and more.

Back when we first went hands-on with the Zoom PWA on Chromebook, we were quick to point out the very limited virtual background support. Rather than cutting out the user in frame, the app simply placed a circle in the center of the screen. It was far from a convincing effect.

With the latest updates to the Zoom PWA, Chromebook owners can finally apply proper virtual background effects. The change first rolled out about a month ago, according to Zoom’s changelog, but was highlighted by AboutChromebooks. In that publication’s testing, the feature worked with proper masking and even supported a blurred background effect. The only thing to keep in mind is that this requires a compatible CPU in your Chromebook.

Zoom explains the update and its technical requirements as follows:

Virtual Background, instead of the current Mask feature, can be enabled by users on devices with sufficient CPU cores. Only available on devices with at least 4 logical cores, including 4 real cores or 2 cores with 4 threads. This may cause performance issues on lower-powered devices and users can easily switch back to the simpler Mask feature.

Other recent additions to the Zoom PWA for Chromebook include AV stats, better support for Breakout Rooms, support for creating polls, and more. You can see all of the latest changes on Zoom’s website.