Skype has also tweaked the way participants of a group video call receive call notifications.
Highlights:
- Skype adds two new features to its Insider Preview version 8.41.76.55
- Number of participants in a video call now increased to 50
- Participants in video call groups can be notified of join requests instead of rung
If you’re a regular user of Skype you’ve got some good news coming your way soon. According to a recent Microsoft forum post, Skype Insider Preview users will get to enjoy two new features in version 8.41.76.55 of the popular video-calling app. The first feature comes in the form of an increase in the number of participants in group video calls from 25 to 50. The second feature comes in the form of quieter call notifications, which lets the caller make ringing for video calls optional. The new features can be found on Skype across all platforms as and when they roll out.
“When you start a call in these large groups, it will send a notification instead of ringing all the members, to not interrupt those who can't join. With this update you will also see that the audio and video buttons are now enabled in these larger groups,” writes Microsoft employee Karah in the forum post. Whether the video call placed is in a small group or large, the caller can choose to enable or disable ringing. First, a video call notification is sent to the group. Once the call has begun, the option to ring all callers appears on the video screen.
If Skype feels the group is too large in number to be rung during a video call i.e., the number of participants included in the call exceeds 50, it displays the following message on the video screen: “Notification sent. This group is too large to ring. You can ring participants individually.” Do you feel eager to try the two new features out yet? Head over to the Skype Insider Program website and download version 8.41.76.55 (or higher).
Skype has been around since August 2003 on desktop platforms like Windows, Mac, and Linux. The mobile version of Skype was launched in 2009 (for iOS) and in 2010 (for Android). The popular video-calling app changed hands when Microsoft acquired Skype Communications in May 2011. In November 2014, Microsoft announced that its enterprise-grade messaging app, Lync, would be replaced by Skype for Business. Since its humble beginnings from nearly sixteen years ago, Skype has come a long way, and its newest avatar lets users add up to 50 participants in a video call.
Related Read: Skype's end-to-end encrypted chat feature is now available for public
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Vignesh Giridharan
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