Skype expands group video calling to up to 50 users, surpassing FaceTime’s 32-person limit

Skype is out today with a new update that doubles the maximum video call user limit from 25 to 50. As reported by TechCrunch, Skype also allows each user to choose which video callers they’d like to view instead of just the speaker being front and center automatically.

Microsoft shared the news in a blog post today. The change expands Skype’s user limit considerably past Group FaceTime’s 32-person maximum.

Starting today, Skype is doubling the amount of people that can simultaneously be on a video or audio group call. You can now call and have up to 50 people in a call, all at once. Whether you’re catching up with your friends, having a team status update, or a conference call with speakers based all around the globe, Skype makes it easy to get everyone in one place. Every Skype group with up to 50 people now supports calling, whether you’re ringing just your best friend or 45 coworkers.

Group notifications also got a tweak with the latest update:

With the increase in the number of participants, we also made a few changes to how these larger calls start. We added a notification to replace the ringing as the default, allowing every member of the group to receive a quick ping to join the call. These notifications are a simple, unobtrusive way to get your calls and meetings (be it between family, friends, podcast guests, or coworkers) started. If the notification of starting a call is not enough, you can select individual members to ring, or if your group is less than 25 participants, you can ring the entire group.

Skype is a free download for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.