Facebook has evolved in a number of ways since the period of its release. However, the company did not put a lot of effort of developing the platform as a chat application for desktop. Instead, Facebook focused on the Messenger app for mobile devices, for which it launched a group voice calls feature back in April.
In an attempt to overthrow Skype and other popular software regarding voice calls, Facebook is reportedly almost ready to launch the group voice calling feature for its desktop platform. The social network company has confirmed to TechCrunch that they are in the process of starting a small test of the feature.
The test will only be available to a select number of users of the service. However, if you find yourself among the lucky ones, you can try it out by clicking the phone icon in you group conversation. Clicking the button will start a voice call with all the users in that respective conversation. This feature represents an attempt to make Facebook the main way people communicate on desktop platforms, using users’ friends as a pre-existing contact list.
Although a number of other companies and service already offer this type of service or more, such as Skype, Slack, WhatsApp, and WeChat, the most important aspect of a chat app is the number of users it has. You can’t call a friend for free without him having an account. This is where Facebook has the advantage as it is the most populous service in the world, you’re surely able to find the person you want to chat with.
Although Facebook already started to experience with voice chat for its desktop platform a while ago, only now they have implemented group voice calls. This added functionality will eventually be the stepping-stone for group video calls, especially since Facebook has emphasized the video medium as being the future of communication.
In this regard, Facebook-owned VR company, Oculus Rift, has recently launched a new group call feature named Parties. The app allows owners of the Rift VR headset to make VR-to-VR calls.
What do you think about Facebook’s new group voice calls feature? Are you going to use once it goes live for everyone?
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