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Skype has doubled the number of people who can participate in an audio or video call at the same time. Now it is possible to call fifty people at the same time, compared to the 25 before. This goes beyond the possibilities of WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and Instagram, writes TechCrunch.

The update also gives the VoIP program, which allows users to make phone calls over the Internet, an edge on Facebook Messenger. Messenger allows as many as fifty people in a conversation, but limits who comes into the picture. When more than six people take part in a conversation, only the person who is talking appears on the screen. In Skype, participants are shown in bubbles at the top of the screen. The user can choose which feed he wants to put on the big screen. This could be more than one person.

The app also now supports more participants than Apple’s FaceTime. Since iOS 12.1, FaceTime supports up to 32 participants in a call.

With the new feature, Skype is now in direct competition with enterprise solutions such as Zoom, which supports a hundred or even a thousand participants. Microsoft’s solution is not as robust as the enterprise variants, but now offers something between an enterprise platform and consumer apps.

Use

Calling has also become easier in the new version of the chat app. To call a group with less than 25 participants, it is possible to call the whole group at once. For larger calls, a notification option has been added to replace the ringing. This means that participants receive a less annoying alarm to participate in a call.

The functions were tested earlier, in March. Now they are rolled out to all users on all platforms. To use the features, you must download the latest version of Skype.

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.