T-Mobile on Thursday introduced native video calling for select handsets, a feature it's fittingly calling T-Mobile Video Calling.
Video calling capabilities are hardly news as there are plenty of third-party apps whose sole task is to initiate video calls. But as T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray pointed out in a recent blog post, T-Mobile’s implementation does carry a few advantages over the competition.
For starters, T-Mobile’s solution is found right in the smartphone dialer so there’s no need to download an additional app. Placing and receiving a video call is just as easy as a standard call – just press the video call button. A small video camera icon will appear next to contacts that are capable of receiving video calls.
Another differentiator, Ray points out, is that you can make voice calls to and from compatible devices across either 4G LTE or while on Wi-Fi. Much like the carrier’s HD Voice calls, you’re able to seamlessly transition across LTE and Wi-Fi without any interruption. In the event you transition to a slower network, your video call will automatically switch over to a voice call (you can also switch back to a video chat with a single tap when you get on a faster connection).
As of now, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5 can use the feature after a software update. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, meanwhile, will have access to the update in a few weeks and by the end of the year, T-Mobile says there will be a total of seven compatible devices on the market.
https://www.techspot.com/news/61999-t-mobile-rolls-out-native-video-calling-select.html
