Zoom Email Client: an in-depth review & first impressions

This post is also available in: Português

Zoom is a globally recognized leader in video conferencing that millions lean on for everything from career meetings to catching up with family members. It is so widely adopted that over 810 million unique global visitors participated in Zoom.us in April 2023.

With so much interest, it only makes sense that the company wants to expand to something new – Zoom Mail.

Our in-depth Zoom Mail review covers the basics of this new service, as well as comparing it to leading providers already on the open market. When you’re operating a business with 20 to 500 employees, it helps to have the best possible technology, and Zoom Mail could be your next adventure.

What is Zoom Mail?

Zoom Mail was announced in the fall of 2022 as a new mail and calendar client you can use. These new features are built directly into the well-known video chat interface and meeting scheduler. While both the Zoom Mail app and the new Calendar are free for anyone to leverage, they do require you to download the latest version of the apps.

In essence, this built-in feature allows your team to access any third-party email server (think Google or Microsoft) without leaving the Zoom interface. Everything is integrated for each access user with different tabs pointing to Mail, Team Meetings, Calendar, and more.

Installing and setting up Zoom Mail

Installing Zoom Mail into your current operating system (Mac & Windows) requires you already have a Zoom account. Once you sign up for that, the rest of our Zoom Mail review became a lot easier. We’ve broken the basic steps down for each email client you are using. They are:

Gmail

• Sign up for a Zoom account and log in.
• Click on the Mail tab (don’t worry, Zoom will prompt you if this is your first time).
• Click on Connect Google Account (you’ll be walked through verification/permissions to continue).
• Change permissions and ensure to include Read and Write access for mail.
• Select Google as your service and click on Next (you’ll need to log in with Google again).
• Click Allow, and you’ll be redirected to the Zoom Mail Client.

Microsoft 365 (Outlook)

• Sign up for a Zoom account and log in.
• Click on the Mail tab (don’t worry, Zoom will prompt you if this is your first time).
• Click on Connect Office 365 Account (you’ll be walked through verification/permissions to continue).
• Change permissions and ensure to include Read and Write access for mail.
• Select Office 365 as your service and click on Next (you’ll need to log in with Microsoft again).
• Be sure the Authorize with OAuth 2.0 is checked, then click on Allow, and you’ll be redirected to the Zoom Mail Client.

Zoom Mail Client

• A unique thing to remember here is that you’ll need a Zoom account that allows this level of service.
• Sign up for a Zoom account and log in.
• Click on the Mail tab (don’t worry, Zoom will prompt you if this is your first time).
• Click on Connect Zoom Mail (you’ll be walked through verification/permissions to continue, but you must create an encryption key for future use).
• Then, click on Next.
• Enter the Zoom Mail Service email address you want to use and then on Create Account.
• You’ll be redirected to the Zoom Mail Client.

Another essential item to note is that the Zoom mobile app for iOS and Android allows you to connect with Zoom Mail and Google Mail, but not Microsoft 365 yet. You’ll need to use the desktop client to communicate with all of them.

Features of Zoom Mail Client

The Zoom Mail Client prides itself on a myriad of features:

• Mail Client: Connects you with third-party email systems and opens you up to Meetings, Phone, Whiteboard, and Team Chat. 
• Calendar: All the same features as the mail client, but with the added benefit of scheduling and date documentation. 
• Image Blocking: This is set by default and ensures faster loading of emails because the images are not allowed to be displayed. You can always turn this off in the settings if you prefer. 
• Dark Mode: A great feature for people with light-sensitive eyes, but Zoom Mail only works in the dark mode of the integrated system (Gmail, Office 365) that you’re using. 
• Encrypted Mail: Enhanced security features ensure all communications remain confidential.
• Native Collaboration Tools: Directly jump from an email to a Zoom call, or collaborate using the built-in Team Chat and Online Whiteboard.
• New AI Companion: Increase productivity and team collaboration by helping you write and summarize messages. Available at no additional cost with paid services in your Zoom user account.

Pros and cons of using Zoom Mail Client

Our goal at Bybrand is to help you unify your email communication. That is why we took the time in our Zoom Mail review to give you the basic pros and cons, so you can decide whether it is a good fit for your business.

Pros:

• Seamless integration with Zoom products like Calendar, White Board, Conferencing, and Team Meets.
• Enhanced security features prevent others from viewing your company email, as well as give you a marketing boost by showing you care about protecting client data. 
• Simplifies using any Zoom products by having everything in one easy-to-use location. 
• Extremely intuitive interface with tabbed blocks and CSS integrations. 

Cons:

• Being relatively new, it may need more advanced features found in more mature email clients like Gmail or Microsoft 365.
• Transitioning from established email systems might create a learning curve for some companies. 
• The mobile application has no full third-party support for Microsoft Office 365. 
• At this time, it does not support IMAP.

Comparing Zoom Mail Client with other email clients

Zoom Mail vs. Microsoft Outlook

While Outlook is a stalwart in the email domain because of so many comprehensive features directly connected to leading apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Zoom Mail’s unique selling point is its deep integration with Zoom’s other offerings.

The built-in Team Chat and Online Whiteboard give it an edge over Outlook, enabling a seamless transition from email communication to collaborative efforts. 

The other significant difference is that Office 365 is unavailable on the mobile app – a challenge for any company running email support or services remotely. 

Zoom Mail vs. Apple Mail

On the surface, both may seem just like any other email client. You can integrate third-party clients through both Apple and Zoom Mail. The primary difference we found in our Zoom Mail review concerns the HTML email signatures. 

Bybrand provides amazing email signature templates, and we focus on providing methods that make the creation and implementation process easier.

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Our impression of Zoom Mail

The first thing you’ll notice when transitioning from a different client to Zoom Mail is that everything is effortless to find. The inherent UI/UX navigation through CSS-supported visuals clearly outlines tabs you can select for Zoom’s additional features or apps. 

We also enjoyed how scheduling a meeting becomes significantly more accessible due to universal user access. Once an appointment is scheduled from one department of your team, the automation working in the background alerts and notify the correct people on Zoom Mail without the multiple steps of other clients. 

Finally, the installation and setup of Zoom Mail do not have the complex steps of Outlook. That is a welcome change for anyone in your business who does not like multistep technologies.

Overall, Zoom Mail offers a holistic approach to business email and keeping all your various contact/customer touchpoints in one system.

Installation

The application is available for Mac, Microsoft Windows and Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora among others)

Zoom Downloads Center

Conclusion

Zoom Mail makes a strong case for itself in a digital age where every tool counts. While it may still have a few miles to cover to match the heavyweights, its vision and the promise of an integrated digital workspace are commendable. 

Using Zoom Mail and adding the Calendar feature allows you to get the most out of this company’s suite of services. As this process is so short, you can “test run” the new application without investing much time or money. After you’ve onboarded Zoom Mail, you’ll see why we like it so much for HTML email signatures.

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