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Skype Mobile tests in-call reactions and retooled search
With the wide variety messaging apps adding video calls, Microsoft has been steadily rolling out improvements to Skype to keep up with the competition. Starting today, Skype users can help test a few new beta features that should make video calling and messaging an even more enjoyable experience on mobile devices.
Facebook Messenger adds group video chatting on iOS and Android
In case you haven't noticed, Facebook has spent a lot of time making video a priority this year, and its latest initiative involves the Messenger app. Today, Facebook is launching group video chat in Messenger for both iOS and Android. The app has had video calling for a good year and a half now, but it was only one-on-one -- but now the app can compete directly with services like Facetime and Skype, both of which offer video calls with multiple participants.
Slack now has built-in video calling
Slack's quest to become a do-it-all chat app continues. The company is trotting out video calling support in the Mac, Windows and Chrome versions of its client, making it easy to see a coworker or catch up with a friend. Anyone can start a one-on-one chat, while those on paid plans can have calls with as many as 15 people at once -- handy for virtual meetings where your voice isn't enough. This isn't exactly a revolutionary feature by itself, but Slack adds its signature emoji responses to let you raise your hand or offer approval without interrupting the discussion.
WhatsApp finally launches video calling
WhatsApp has introduced a number of new features in recent months but perhaps the most eagerly awaited has been video calling. Some users briefly flirted with video calls back in May but it took until October before a wider set of Android device owners could get involved. Now, the Facebook-owned company is ready to unleash video calls on everybody and in the coming days will roll out the feature to iOS, Android and Windows devices.
WhatsApp is rolling out video calls on Android
Whatsapp, the $19 billion app used by over a billion folks, may finally be ready to support video calls. As Android Police noticed, the feature now works for some Android users, even without an update. However, anyone can try it by installing the latest beta (2.16.318), which is up on APK Mirror. If you do so, you'll notice a camera icon next to your contacts and will be able to place video calls provided your friends have the feature, too.
Facebook Messenger's 'Instant Video' looks awfully Snapchatty
Bots have been all the rage in Facebook Messenger over the last few months, but today the social network is adding a new way to chat with your pals. The company announced a tool called Instant Video that allows you to have those quick conversations face-to-face in addition to text and photos. Yes, video calling was already available in Messenger, so what's new here? Well, Instant Video is meant to be easily and instantly (get it?) accessible inside a chat conversation rather than having to go through the process of making a call. It's all about efficiency.
Duo, Google's supersimple video chat app, arrives today
Back in May at its I/O developer conference, Google introduced a pair of new communication apps: Allo for text-based communication and Duo for video calling. Allo is the more interesting of the two, with its deep usage of the intelligent Google Assistant bot -- but Duo is the one we'll get to try first. Google hopes it'll stand out among a bevy of other communications apps thanks to a laser focus on providing a high-quality mobile experience. It's available today for both the iPhone and Android phones.
Google shows off its new 'Duo' video calling app
Google showed off a new video calling app today at its annual I/O developer conference. Dubbed "Duo," this app will be the companion to Allo, a Facebook Messenger-like app that Google also previewed on stage today. Like Allo, Duo will be mobile only when it is released later this summer and will be available on both iOS and Android.
Blackberry BBM video calling comes to Android and iOS
There are lots of ways to make video calls, including Skype, Hangouts and Facebook Messenger. But if you're still wedded to BlackBerry's rapidly declining ecosystem, you can make video calls to your Android and iOS pals via beta versions of the BBM messaging app for those platforms. There is no sign-up, fee or approval required for the feature, but it will only be in Canada and the US for now, ostensibly to shake out any beta bugs. However, BlackBerry says the feature will roll out globally in July.
Skype nixes plug-in requirement for web-based chats
Skype for Web offers a handy way to bring your chats and calls to your browser. However, to us it on the web, you had to install a plug-in or extension before you could make audio or video calls. As of today, those extras are no longer a requirement, making good on a promise the company made back in 2014. With the Microsoft Edge browser, Skype for Web won't make you install a plug-in to communicate via audio or video. And yes, group chats are included as well.
Microsoft readies a universal Skype app for Windows 10
Microsoft is developing a new version of Skype that works across all Windows 10 devices, including desktop PCs, tablets and smartphones. At the moment, it's called the rather convoluted "Skype Universal Windows Platform Preview," and will be available to Windows Insiders in the coming weeks. The first build will be focused on the desktop and include most of Skype's usual features, such as group chats, one-to-one voice and video calls. Group voice and video calling are noticeably absent, but Microsoft has promised to add them "in the next couple of releases."
Skype's Android and iOS apps let you video chat with 24 other people
Group video calling on our smartphones isn't a new idea, but Skype -- arguably the most well-known name in video calls -- hasn't supported it, until now. Today, Microsoft announced that group video calling will start rolling out in the Skype iOS and Android apps. For starters, the capability is going to be available to Skype users in North American and western Europe, but full worldwide availability is planned for the end of the month.
Skype for Android lets you schedule calls, open Office files
Skype is constantly getting new tools to make call-related tasks easier, and today the Android version received two more. First, there's now an option for scheduling calls in the mobile app. Select the contact you want to schedule a call with and select the appropriate item from the drop-down menu. This will allow you to block off time in Outlook or your calendar app of choice.
Skype makes it easy to start work calls in Slack
If you think the one thing Slack is missing is the ability to start voice/video calls, you're in luck. Skype released a preview version of its Slack integration, allowing you begin calls inside the workplace chat room app. Once you add Skype's new feature to Slack, typing /skype in a chat window will offer a join link for your colleagues to call in.
Hangouts video calls are getting a quality boost
Google isn't giving up in its bid to improve Hangouts' call quality any time soon. It just introduced a redesigned web calling experience that, on top of a simpler interface, improves quality across the board. Video chats should not only look better overall, but start faster and stay sharper. Only a handful of Hangouts users get to try this right now, but it should expand worldwide in the near future. Just be aware that you may lose some features you like -- as one early adopter notes, app support within Hangouts is currently missing. That doesn't necessarily mean that the support is gone for good, but you shouldn't count on it coming back.
UK police force trials virtual crime visits over Skype
In an effort to cut costs and make its officers more efficient, police in Peterborough, England are asking citizens to report their crimes over Skype. So, whereas before a local "bobby" would come round to their house, notepad in hand, to ask questions and take down what happened, the entire process will now be conducted over webcam. Alternatively, victims can do the follow-up on the phone or at the station -- handy if Skype is being its usual, unreliable self. The system is being trialled for crimes reported via 101, the police's non-emergency contact number. The force says it'll give people more flexibility with appointment times, and also ensure officers spend more hours each day on patrol. We suspect it also has something to do with the major budget cuts facing forces up and down the country.
Skype gets shareable conversation links for easy invites
Need to invite someone to join a Skype session? Well, that task just got a lot easier. The video-chatting app added a new feature that lets you invite folks to join a conversation with a shareable link. All you have to do is nab the URL, send it to the person and they can click it to join. What's more, the invitee doesn't need a Skype account to do so. Clicking on a shared link can employ Skype on the web as a guest, but it'll still offer access to messaging and both video and voice calls. If you're familiar with sharing links to Dropbox or OneDrive files, you have an idea of how this works. It sounds like a simple addition, but it's sure to save time, and allow people who aren't using the app to easily participate as needed.
Nucleus wants to take the friction out of video calling
Video calling is a great example of a technology that once felt highly futuristic but is now available on nearly every computer and smartphone out there. FaceTime, Hangouts, Skype -- there are plenty of options, and they all work pretty well, and work in pretty much the same way. A new company called Nucleus thinks that there's still a lot of room for improvement in video calls, particularly in terms of connecting people instantly. That's the goal of its new product (also called Nucleus): it's a tablet you can mount on your wall or place on a counter that lets you connect with other users in less than a second.
The next Apple Watch reportedly has a video chat camera
The first Apple Watch might have only just reached stores, but that isn't stopping rumors about Cupertino's next wearable. Sources for 9to5Mac claim that Apple already has some big plans for its second-generation Watch, and the highlight would be a front camera for video calls -- yes, you'd get to live out your Inspector Gadget dreams and have a face-to-face chat from your wrist. There's a chance this feature could get cut if there's either a change in the roadmap or logistical problems, but it's currently on the cards for a "likely" 2016 debut.
Skype Translator is heading to the desktop app this summer
Last month, Microsoft removed the sign-up requirement for folks to give Skype's live translation chops a try. Now, a preview version of the multi-language tool is heading to the desktop. Skype Translator is scheduled to roll out inside the chat-focused app's desktop software at the end of the summer, delivering real-time translation for voice/video calls and instant messaging. Right now, the speech function supports English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin, but if you're conversing via IM, there are 50 more languages added to the list. Windows 10 arrives at this summer too, and real-time translating is sure to come in handy when chatting it up on a 84-inch Surface Hub.
