14 DAY TRIAL // Skype has just announced that group video calling, a feature that has until now been available with a fee, becomes completely free for everyone on Windows, Mac, and Xbox One.
At the same time, Microsoft's VoIP service revealed that the same option will also be offered free of charge to users of other platforms in the near future, including Windows 8 Metro, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
“We’re excited to announce that we’re making group video calling free – for all users on these platforms. And, in the future, we’ll be enabling group video calling for all our users across more platforms – at no cost,” the company said in a blog post today.
“While Skype is known for one to one video calling, we know it’s also essential to connect with the groups of people who matter most, whether friends, family or colleagues. For the last few years, we’ve offered group video calling to Premium users on Windows desktop and Mac and more recently Xbox One. “
Skype group video calling has until now been available only to users with a Premium account, so under the old rules, you had to pay $4.99 (€3.6) for a day or $8.99 (€6.5) per month to use the feature.
Group video calling supports up to 10 different desktop computers, be they PCs or Macs, and a maximum of 4 Xbox One consoles connected at the same time.