In the space of a year, video calling has gone from a monthly FaceTime with grandparents to an essential part of daily life. But the technology is still stuck in the Skype era.
How to use Skype
Video calling is perhaps the most primitive service we use. We deal with audio delays, frozen video, and most conversations start with everyone saying, “Can you hear me?” But that’s all about to change. Apple just added the amazing Center Stage to the M1 iPad Pro, Reincubate’s Camo does the same for the Mac, and the industry is waking up to the possibilities of using artificial intelligence (AI) in video chatting.
“There was a perception that video calling was ‘outdated’ and that Skype had solved the problem in 2003. While there have been many social video apps since then, video calling has largely become a business endeavor and not much has changed,” Aidan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Reincubate, told Lifewire via email.
Before we get into the terrible apps, let’s first look at why webcams are so bad. It’s mostly due to cost. For example, the front-facing cameras on iPhones and iPads are excellent. They also have depth-sensing capabilities that are great for improving video, but we’ll get to that later. Phones are expensive, while laptops are cheap.
