You don’t have to miss out on seeing your loved ones this Christmas.
The current Coronavirus restrictions may have got you feeling a bit bogged down this Christmas, but we’re here to tell you about the endless video apps that will help you stay connected with your loved ones.
Christmas is a super-social holiday, and we think that doesn’t have to change this year. With the right video calling app, catching-up with your friends and family has never been easier. You’ll be able to share cracker jokes, thank each other for your gifts, and even host distanced dinner parties and quiz nights!
We’ve brought you the best video calling apps that you can use on your mobile, meaning you can get into the festive spirits this year whether you’re at home or on the move.
For a night where there are lots of you.
If you’re from a huge family with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins, you’ll want an app that can take on all of you. This will also be the case if you’ve got a bigger friendship group and you’re wanting to get the whole gang together for a night of fun.
Get social with Skype.
Skype is a great app for over Christmas, especially if there are lots of you that want to jump on the call. Although it has been around for a long time, it’s still a contender for one of the best video apps out there.
It supports huge groups of up to 50 people, meaning if you wanted to, you could get the whole family involved all at once. Another great positive about Skype is that it doesn’t restrict your call to a tiny time scale and offers four hours per call, for free!
If you did need longer than four hours, you could simply start a new call when the first one is over. You could host your own game night or get your work friends together for a virtual Christmas do – the options are endless.
Download Skype for iPhone| Android
Get ahead with Zoom.
Zoom was the big craze at the beginning of lockdown way back in March and for good reason. With the option to include up to 100 participants, this app is perfect for staying in touch with big groups over Christmas.
You can get creative and change your background or share your screen with other participants – making it great for quizzes!
It’s one of the most popular business video conference apps too. It boasts features that make it ideal for meetings, such as its reliability and sound web integration. So, whether you’re using it for business or pleasure, it will provide everything you need from a video app.
Download Zoom for iPhone| Android
Make the most of Facetime.
This is one for iPhone users. FaceTime is the go-to app for Apple fans and has received endless updates over the years to get it to where it’s at now. If you’ve got friends or families with iPhones, you can video call them with ease and catch up while drinking a cup of tea (or maybe something stronger).
The reason we’ve put FaceTime with the larger group video call apps is because thanks to an update, FaceTime makes it easy to chat with multiple people at the same time. You can now add up to 32 people into one call.
To start a group FaceTime call, you can head to the app or start it from a group conversation in iMessage. No matter how many people are in the call, the tile of the person who is talking gets bigger automatically, meaning you’ll never lose track of the conversation.
Hangout with Google Hangouts.
Google Hangouts is a classic case of doing what it says on the tin. It literally gives you the freedom to hangout with up to 25 people on a video chat which is perfect for a distanced office party.
The best bit? It’s completely free! Christmas is a gorgeous time of year, but it’s also expensive. With Google Hangouts, you can socialise with those closest to you and not have to spend a penny.
Download Google Hangouts for iPhone| Android
For an evening with your nearest and dearest.
If you’re looking for more intimate video calls this Christmas with those closest to you, we’ve got some great apps for you too. Whether it’s one to one catch ups or chats with a few of you, these apps have you covered.
Stay connected with Facebook Messenger.
Messenger is wildly popular with lots of people using it to stay connected socially. It can support up to 8 people in each video call, making it perfect for catch ups with those closest to you.
Messenger is an extension of Facebook, meaning you will need an account in order to use it. You won’t have to be active on this account or updating the world on what you had for dinner, but an email address and password will need to be created to get in on the action.
Download Messenger for iPhone | Android
A small gathering with WhatsApp.
Facebook Messenger is seen as the cool guy in the video app world, but we definitely shouldn’t disregard WhatsApp. It’s primarily a messaging app, but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t got a few tricks up its sleeve that will be great for staying in touch over Christmas.
It’s one for those more personal nights and lets you add up to 4 people in once call. To get started, you have to start a group chat then hit the call button at the top right of the screen. You can then select which participants you want to include in the call and press the camera button.
Download WhatsApp for iPhone| Android
Which phones are these apps compatible with?
All of the above apps are compatible with both iOS and Android, other than FaceTime which is only available on iPhone.
If you’re going to be doing all of this socialising, we assume you’ll want a great phone to do it on and as it so happens, we’ve got some incredible mobile phone deals for you today. Plus, with free next day delivery, you can enjoy yours as soon as tomorrow. Christmas can really get started.
