Group video platforms are now seeing a massive rise as people in numerous countries are staying home under national lockdown. For those healthy enough to stay home during the novel coronavirus outbreak, group video apps are the last resort to the daily routine.
We’ve tried the most popular currently making waves, and selected three of the best that we’ve found.
Zoom
Zoom is usually used in business conditions, as it allows up to 100 people on a group call, and up to 500 with the purchasable plan. The downside of the app is, however, that it only enables 40 minutes of free call for more than two people.
The platform is amazing because it offers an incredibly easy way for people to join a group call, and gives the option to personalize the backgrounds, as well as some effects you can have fun with. Zoom also enables you to access different layouts for the way to see other people in the chat, such as a Brady Bunch tiled setup.
As per numerous reports as well as the results of our testings, the connectivity issues were fewer than on any other group call platform; however, the limit is bothersome. Overall, Zoom is the best option you can get for a smooth group video chat.
Houseparty
Houseparty used to be one of the most popular video apps with integrated games out there, but after a while, its fame decreased. Now, however, under the circumstances, the platform has seen a heroic rise. It allows up to eight people in a group video chat; it is free and offers games.
The app’s interface seems a bit challenging to navigate at first, but after you get used to it, it is a pretty great platform to use. It is definitely aimed towards ‘millennials;’ for instance, references to Lil Uzi Vert and terms such as ‘dank‘ are often encountered.
Houseparty is worth using, but perhaps only for a particular category of people, as not everyone can get used to it.
FaceTime
Everyone using an Apple product knows the renowned FaceTime, as the platform is a native mobile app to iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. It allows up to 32 people in video group chats, and it is free as long as you use it from an Apple device.
Although the app allows 32 people on a group chat, numerous people reported that it doesn’t work properly with more than three or four people. As a matter of fact, we also found it difficult to successfully FaceTime with more people, but even with only two, sometimes, the app displayed very poor connection.
However, FaceTime is useful because it comes as an in-device application if you have an iPhone, and it can be utilized internationally with mobile data, just like WhatsApp. Still, it works best when there are only two people on the call.
The app is worth using if you have an Apple device that has it pre-installed, but there are other options out there that are better if you don’t have an iPhone.
