2020 will go down as the year that the new MacBook Air with the Apple M1 chip took us by surprise: Zoom announced a native app for Apple Silicon Macs.

While Zoom worked fine without Silicon's native app, the app now runs even more comfortably on Mac machines with ARM-based CPUs (currently only machines with the M1 chip).

With COVID-19 still raging in many parts of the world and families spending holidays away from each other, apps like Zoom will be critical for staying in touch. Therefore, the upgraded Zoom app comes at the perfect time.

Designed to run directly on the M1 chip rather than relying on Apple's Rosetta 2 emulator, the Apple silicon-native Zoom app should offer improved performance over its Intel-based predecessor.

The exact optimization is not clear, but according to users on the MacRumors forum, the Intel version of Zoom caused a 17 percent drop over a 2.5-hour call. Therefore, tight integration with the M1 chip should reduce power consumption.

Just remember that if you want to get the Apple Silicon native Zoom app, you will need to download a separate installer from the Zoom download center.

The update was distributed today and includes many more useful features that all users will enjoy, not just those with the shiny new Macbook Pro with M1 or Mac mini M1.

These include better cloud contact integration, a new reaction button, a raise your hand button when you don't want to interrupt someone, SMS and MMS support, improved grouping of security options when scheduling calls, and other small tweaks. The full release notes can be read on Zoom's support site.

So, with the holiday season upon us, there are a few added bonuses for Zoom lovers. Don't forget, Zoom is eliminating the usual 40-minute time limit for free users on key dates during the holiday season. Also, if Zoom doesn't suit you, you can check out other best video chat apps instead.