Skype is rolling out group video calling to their mobile apps, chat with up to 25 people on a single call
Last month, Skype celebrated 10 years of free video calls by letting the world know that soon, they’d be bringing group video calling to mobile devices. In an update on their blog today, Skype has announced that this feature is now officially ready, and has officially begun rolling out to Android (and iOS) smartphones and tablets. It’s not available all over the world though. Skype says the rollout will start first in Western Europe and North America, rolling out over the next week or so. The plan is to go live worldwide in March, which is just around the corner.
The number of people who can join in on a video call is also going up from the original number of 5, to a whopping 25 people in a single call. Calls work a lot like Google Hangouts with the active speaker having their video feed displayed, or group calls can be customized for a grid view where everyone’s faces appear, or a pinned view where the caller selects only 1 person to view. Skype also makes it super easy for anyone to join in a call by providing users with a simple link to share out. If a current Skype user clicks the link, the app will simply open. If they’re not already a Skype user, they can still join the call by visiting Skype on the web from their computer.
It’s a pretty sweet update and one we’re sure lot of people will appreciate. To see Skype group calling for mobile devices in action, check out the video below.
