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WhatsApp is testing video and audio sharing so you can host watch parties again
The feature is being tested in WhatsApp beta for iOS and under development for Android
WhatsApp is one of the more robust instant messaging services in terms of features, giving it a much-needed edge in a crowded industry. Meta, the parent company behind WhatsApp, is continuously adding new features to improve the app's UI. Now, another one seems to be in the works that could change the way app users share audio and video.
Gmail offers many unique features beyond sending emails. One is an integration with Google Chat that allows you to hold one-on-one conversations or group people into different spaces. Voice or video call options are also available, although they aren't anything new. Google rolled out those features in December 2021, allowing you to switch between Chat conversations, emails, and calls within one app.
How to use Skype on Chromebook
Run Skype on your Chromebook like an Android app, or use the web version
Skype is still widely used, even with Zoom and Google Meet stealing the spotlight. Statistics show over 300 million active users interact with the free video calling platform. Most prefer to make a video call on their personal computers rather than mobile phones. Downloading and installing it is an easy task for Windows, Mac, and Linux OS, but not for ChromeOS.
Five obscure beginnings to some of our favorite smartphone features
They've been around longer than you'd think
Many features we now consider standard equipment for our smartphones weren't so common a few years ago. Looking into the origins of some of them can be surprising for several reasons: sometimes they're older than expected, more recent than you remember, or originated in a device you've never heard of before.
Google makes its holodeck-like tech for video calls sound so good, we wish we could use it now
You can attempt to make your own if you have arm grease and a ton of know-how
Google introduced Project Starline back at I/O 2021 as essentially the ultimate in remote person-to-person experiences by capturing and projecting depth data along with high-fidelity sound and vision. As the company has rolled out equipment across its various offices for on-boarding, interviews, and one-on-one brainstorm sessions, employees are finding more to enjoy and gain from the realtime 3D experience Starline provides than the traditional video call.
Google Meet can now correct the crappy lighting in your home office
It will enhance brightness to improve visibility
Google is going to great lengths to ensure you look your best in video calls. After adding a low-light mode to Meet last year, the company is rolling out a new feature that better illuminates your video when there's too much light behind you, messing with camera exposure.
Facebook's slow roll on encryption has made it to video and voice calls on Messenger
But not by default
Facebook has been slow to implement end-to-end encryption for its messaging apps, but the baby steps continue to happen nevertheless. Today, it announced the introduction of opt-in E2EE for voice and video calls in Messenger.
You've got no excuse for missing a group call on WhatsApp anymore
A good news/bad news thing depending on the call
WhatsApp group calls up until this point have been much like a plane. Once it's left the tarmac, it goes express to the end of the call and there's no getting on. That sucks. Well, after plenty of forced restarts and lots of belly aching on the part of users, Facebook has decided to relent and introduce the ability for them to join a group call in progress.
Google Meet is ending unlimited group video calls for free users
1h+ group calls are a now a no-go for free users
Google made unlimited Meet group video calls free when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, but the company never intended this feature to remain available for everyone. The business originally wanted to introduce a long-planned 60-minute limit for free accounts in March this year, but then extended the deadline to June 2021. And well, there's no further delay: June has come and gone, and so have free unlimited calls for everyone.
Google will offer free, unlimited Meet video calls a bit longer
24-hour limit for all users extended to June 2021
There's light at the end of the tunnel for millions of employees forced to work from home, and Google is here for them ... or at least wants to keep Google Meet relevant in the meantime. Previously Google made its Meet video chat platform free and unlimited through March of this year, eschewing the 30-minute limit on free accounts. Now that freebie period has been extended until June 2021.
WhatsApp is rolling out desktop voice and video calls to all users
It's available on both macOS and Windows
Back in December, we reported some WhatsApp beta users got the option to place voice and video calls using their desktop client. While these features were still in testing, they've now been officialized by the company and have started rolling out to all users.
WhatsApp voice and video calls are live for some on desktop and web
Now your relatives can nag you with random calls on desktop, too
WhatsApp for desktops has made it simple to keep the conversation going even while you’re away from your phone, or maybe you just prefer the typing experience of a full-sized keyboard (who doesn’t?). But you still have to return to your mobile device to make a video or voice call. Well, not anymore. WhatsApp is rolling out the ability to make and receive calls right on your desktop screen, starting with those on the beta version of the app.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the lockdowns associated with it, have caused a surge in demand for videoconferencing tools. Zoom seems to be the leader in this space, but with the privacy issues that service has gone through, there's still demand for secure alternatives. Signal, the encrypted messaging platform, announced today that it now supports group calls on mobile.
Nest Hub Max doubles down on video calls with new Zoom support and big Google Meet improvements
Not so smart of a display if it took this long to get Zoom on it...
For a year defined by videoconferencing, our smart displays have not been able to keep up as a worthy companion — mostly because the apps either aren't there or aren't very good. But there's a giant improvement due for the cross-section of Nest Hub Max owners and Google Meet users and even bigger news for those on Zoom.
Voice and video calls are coming to the WhatsApp web client
Every other call you make is on your laptop anyways
We're all on our desktops for video conferences hours on end, but when it comes to hitting up all the people you need to without having to grab the phone you threw into a corner to avoid distraction, well, it's still a dilemma — especially if you use WhatsApp, where voice and video calls are still mobile-only features. But there are signs of a remedy for that need coming soon.
Even Google Glass has Meet now because it's not 2020 if you can't make video calls on it
Everyone, meet Meet
Two things that apparently just won't die are coming together in some kind of union — Google Meet is headed for beta tests in workplaces that have deployed Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2.
Google Duo might be on the way out in the long-term, but right now, the developers keep adding feature after feature, with new stickers always flying in and Android TV support in the works. But one capability went MIA shortly after its initial release back in 2018: Screen sharing. After two years of absence, Google has re-announced it on Twitter, though it has yet to roll out to anyone using the service.
Live Caption on phone and video calls now working on Pixel 4a, 4, 3 XL
Hearing them just doesn't cut it sometimes
Read update
As part of today's Pixel 4a festivities, Google has also announced a new feature that's coming to older Pixels as well. Remember Google's Live Caption feature that transcribes speech in real-time, on-device, for things like videos? Well, Live Caption will now also work for video and voice calls — more useful than ever in these socially distant times.
Signal beta for desktop picks up support for video and voice calls
End-to-end encrypted, but just one-on-one for now
The latest beta release of the Signal desktop app has picked up a feature the mobile app has had now for years: video and voice calling. Unfortunately, they're one-on-one for now, but it's already live on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Terrible, space-wasting Google Meet integration is rolling out for Gmail on Android
You can disable it, though
Gmail's rather obnoxious Google Meet integration began to roll out widely to users of the app today on Android, signaling that the space-wasting UI tweak is moving full steam ahead. Our devices have started receiving it, and it's just as annoying as you'd expect, eating a solid 10-20% of your Gmail inbox list UI depending on how long your display is. It's a blatant attempt to shoehorn Meet into an extremely popular Google app, as Google commits to offensive action in the videoconferencing wars.