Microsoft announced today that it has added group video calling to the Modern app version of Skype for Windows. The firm made this previously paid feature available for free to all Skype users in April and has been adding the capability to its various Skype mobile apps since.
"We'd all like to be able to catch up more frequently with friends, family, colleagues and hobby groups spread across different locations," a new post to the Skype Garage & Updates blog notes. "Group video calls are a great way to do this."
When Microsoft announced that group video calling would be free in April, that capability was already present in its traditional Skype applications such as Skype for Windows desktop, Mac and Xbox One. It previously required a Skype Premium subscription at a cost of $8.99 per month.
In addition to the obvious functionality, Skype group video calling also enables screen sharing functionality. It works with 3 to 10 people, though Microsoft recommends 5 or fewer for the best performance.
For the Modern app version of Skype for Windows, group video calling has been optimized for four people—you plus three others—because they found that most group calls take place between three or four participants. But you can of course perform a group video call with up to 10 participants. It's not clear yet whether this app supports screen sharing.
To perform a group video call, launch Skype for Modern Windows and Create Group button which can be found between the Call and Search buttons. Then, multi-select the participants and then tap the Add button. The group call will start as an instant messaging session, but you can tap Camera button to start video.
You can learn from this Skype video.
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