Skype has increased the number of users that can be on the same audio or video group call to 50, up from the previous maximum of 25.
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The bump up to 50 means bigger team chats and larger conference calls with speakers can take place, while full classes of students can participate in group calls.
The change also means Microsoft's Skype now beats Apple's FaceTime for the number of users that take part in a group call. FaceTime supports a maximum of 32 people.
In addition, Microsoft has made some changes to how larger Skype group calls start. Users now receive a notification to replace the default ringing sound, which is meant to allow every member of a group to receive a quick ping to join the call in a more unobtrusive way.
The audio and video buttons remain available to use in larger groups, so users can still mute their microphones or turn on/off their webcam.
Large group calling is available on the latest version of Skype for desktop and mobile.
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Top Rated Comments
We have embedded a culture of ‘video on by default’ and the change in professional relationship building has been staggering. Sure it was a little uncomfortable for most at first but now its the norm. It’s just so much more personable than an audio bridge or chat window.
We have held 50-100 person Zoom video calls. It’s easy to manage, performance is quite remarkable considering what is actually happening and it just works really well. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Based on our experience, it’s easy to see why Skype have done this. They need to compete.
What really matters is how stable it is, and it performs quite well — very little problems, if any. Screen sharing works great, which is good because there’s always someone showing slides.