A beginner's guide to video chat
It finally happened: With a few quick swipes and taps, our mobile devices become conduits of live two-way video through which we can speak face-to-face with family members, significant others, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Video chat is no longer science fiction and can be part of our daily communications. However, it seems that only a relative few are actually using this game-changing technology,
According to a study from last fall, about 68 percent of all American adults own a smartphone, which is roughly two in three American adults. Of those people, less than half (47 percent) have ever used video chat platforms on their smartphones, and this represents a sharp increase from 33 percent in 2013 and 19 percent in 2011. Obviously, there are more and more people using video chat on their smartphones. On the other hand, with several capable video chat platforms from which to choose, why are only a minority of smartphone users using them?
One reason could be that it can sometimes be difficult to have off-the-cuff video chats in the same way we make phone calls. It’s one thing to jump out of the shower to take an important phone call and another matter to video chat with someone while wearing only a towel. Video chat requires more foresight and preparation than is necessary for phone calls. Or perhaps you’re of the opinion that video chat seems more complicated than it’s worth. If that’s the case, fear not. We have you covered.
If the release of Google Duo tells us anything, it’s that video chat is as relevant as ever and will likely hold a prominent place in mobile communication as we move forward. Whether you’re simply a late adopter or haven’t gotten around to learning how the whole “video chat thing” works, the following is a concise guide to the art of the video chat using four of the most popular and easy-to-use platforms: Google Duo, Google Hangouts, Skype, and Facebook Messenger.
Google Duo
It’s no surprise that some of the best video chat platforms for Android users are the ones that were actually made by Google, with the first in our guide being Duo. Google Duo is the latest video chat platform for Android and Google seems to be banking on it becoming the Android equivalent of Apple’s FaceTime for iOS. However, the key difference (and what should be a major advantage, but that’s another story) between Duo and FaceTime is that the former supports both Android and iOS. This means if your friends download Duo, you’ll be able to video chat with all of them no matter who carries an iPhone and who carries an Android. (Apologies to the dozen or so Windows Phone users out there who are feeling left out.)
How to start using Google Duo for video chat
Something else that should be mentioned here is a feature called “Knock Knock”. Instead of seeing the photo that’s associated with your contact information, Knock Knock lets the person whom you are calling actually see you via your front-facing camera before he or she answers the call. It’s a bit of an odd feature that has brought up issues concerning privacy, but you have the option to turn off Knock Knock in the settings. If you have Knock Knock turned on, make sure you’re actually ready for your video chat before you begin initiating the connection.
Google Hangouts
For those of us who prefer the simple, unadulterated predictability of Google services, Hangouts is typically the preferred means of conducting video chats. Granted, many of us will go off and explore new services and platforms on occasion, but we routinely return to Hangouts because it’s simple and reliable. If Duo is the new kid on the block who’s trying to make friends, Hangouts is that dude who comes home from college to throw great parties throughout the summers and during the holidays.
Unlike Duo, Hangouts isn’t just for video chat. When it was unveiled in mid-2013, Google Hangouts — which took its name from the popular Hangouts video chat feature of Google+ — was multifunctional, proprietary communications platform for instant messaging, voice calls, and video chat. In short order, SMS integration was added to Hangouts, but more recently was ported off Hangouts and into its own separate application called Messages. Today, there seems to be a dichotomy among Hangouts users: people who use Hangouts for instant messaging (typically a business scenario) and people who use Hangouts for video chat.
Getting started with video chat on Google Hangouts
Skype
Although most Android users are intimately acquainted with Hangouts, Skype tends to be the most widely-recognized option and there’s surely no platform that’s as strongly associated with video chat as Skype. Part of this is due to Skype being available on basically every mobile and desktop operating system that exists. But it has been around for the longest, too, with Skype having made its debut in 2003. Other services come and go, but Skype remains a favorite among video chat users, especially those who chat regularly with people in other countries.
Start Skyping in three easy steps
Facebook Messenger
If there’s any company that could be said to rival Google in terms of its prominence in our daily lives, it’s definitely Facebook. It may no longer be at the forefront of the social media hype train like it was just a couple years ago, but it’s still the biggest social network there is. If you’re skeptical, consider these figures: Earlier this year, it was found that Facebook has 1.59 billion users who are active at least throughout the month.
Let that sink in for a moment. In 2013, the whole world’s population was 7.125 billion people; if that figure is similar today, over 22 percent of the global population uses Facebook regularly; keep in mind this number includes only active users, which, looking just at the U.S., is nearly 75 percent of all American adults who are online. By comparison, Facebook-owned Instagram has 400 million active users while Twitter has 320 million active users.
In providing these statistics, I hope your takeaway from this is that there’s a pretty significant chunk of the population using Facebook, which has been steadily expanding its wheelhouse, building out its social network into something more. Case in point: Facebook Messenger. It used to be that you could exchange Facebook messages within the actual Facebook app; however, following the launch of the separate messaging app in 2011, Facebook Messenger soon became the only way to exchange Facebook messages between mobile devices. More recently, SMS integration, voice calls, and video chat has been incorporated into Facebook Messenger. Since most of your family members and friends are probably using Facebook, this may be the most convenient option when it comes to using video chat since it won’t require anyone to sign up for new and unfamiliar services.
Using Facebook Messenger for video chat
This concludes our lesson for today, and I want to hear from you. Now that you’re a bonafide video chat expert, does it seem like something you will or would like to use? Were you already using video chat? Sound off in the comment section below and make sure to share this video chat guide with anyone who might be having trouble adopting this relatively newfangled, easier-than-it-looks technology. And as always, keep it tuned to Android Authority as we continue to be your go-to source for all things Android.
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