Video Chat App Development: The Best of the Existing Examples and a Short Workflow Guide
Video chat apps remove the need for face-to-face interactions and allow people to meet remotely. Before the pandemic, video chat apps like WhatsApp and IMO were popular, but the Global Pandemic drove the necessity for a chat app with business features, and Zoom became the de facto app amongst entrepreneurs and businesses. Since then, startups have often thought about how to build a video chat app.
Conferencing, virtual meetings, and remote collaboration have become commonplace today, with many apps offering similar and unique positions. Zoom and Skype hold the position for business meetings, with Zoom improving the industry even though it's a young company. WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, and FaceBook have excellent personal video meeting capabilities and significant physical and social interaction alternatives.
Conferencing, virtual meetings, and remote collaboration have become commonplace today, with many apps offering similar and unique positions. Zoom and Skype hold the position for business meetings, with Zoom improving the industry even though it's a young company. WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, and FaceBook have excellent personal video meeting capabilities and significant physical and social interaction alternatives.
Read Also: Best Screen Recording apps for Android & iOS
Let’s explore video chat app development examples (follow the link to meet the time-proven Topflight Apps’ experience):
Consider the Features before You Develop a Video Chat App:
There are three major features a video chat app can have: video calling, conferencing, and education. Other minor features include a working platform (iOS, Android, Web, Xbox…), conferencing features like chat during live videos, and screen sharing. You should also consider encryption and other data security measures.
1. Video Calling: This is a fundamental feature to consider in video calling app development. With video calling, you can contact friends, family members, coworkers, and partners from countries away. Your app can also allow users to connect with landlines, provide virtual phone numbers, and connect with phones.
2. Education: During the Global Pandemic, video chat apps became the go-to guys for educational institutes. Universities and colleges realized they could efficiently pass knowledge and teach children remotely without exposing them to the risks of in-class lectures. And it worked perfectly! Today, classes are held via Zoom Meetings, and many companies have sprung up to allow people to commit to distance learning.
Zoom Meeting
Zoom meeting became the defacto video chat app during the Global Pandemic and a standard on how to make a video chat app. Even though Skype has decades of existence over Zoom, Zoom has become the preferred video chat app for meetings. The app works with Android, Mac, Web, and iOS and has a free plan where two people can meet without any time limit. If more than three people are in a meeting, you must sign up for a paid subscription if you do not want a time limit.Key Features
- Screen sharing, live annotations, and encryption.
- A meeting convener can set who can share and save meeting recordings.
- End-to-end encryption protects user data.
- A maximum of 3 people can use the application without a time limit.
- The premium tier begins at $15, and there is a 40-minute cap on the free usage of more than 3 people.
Skype
Like Zoom, Skype works with iOS, Android, MAC, Windows, Xbox, and the web and has a maximum of 50 free users.Key Features
- With Skype, you can connect to landlines and basic cell phones, allowing you to interact with friends, family members, and business partners that are countries away.
- Screen sharing, end-to-end encryption, messaging, and real-time translation of audio.
- Video Meeting Apps for Mobile Applications
- Video meeting apps for Android include Duo and WhatsApp. FaceTime is iOS native video meeting app; however, WhatsApp also works well with Ios.
Duo
The duo works with iOS, Android, Mac through the web, and Windows and offers a maximum of 32 users for its free tier.Key Features
- Offers a free trial of 32 users.
- Easy and fun to use
- Rivals iOS: FaceTime is also available on iOS, so you can still keep in touch with friends even if you do not have an iPhone.
Discord
Discord is the best video chat app for gamers, and it works with Ios, Windows, Android, Mac, and the web and offers a free tier for 25 people on a video call and 50 users while streaming.Key Features
- Supports texts and video chat.
- Allows you to record and stream your screen while you play the game.
- There is a free tier, but with $10 per month, you can upgrade to the Nitro Tier. You can access videos at a stream quality max of 720/30 fps in the Nitro Tier.
How to Build a Video Chat App: A Quick Workflow
Consider the Features before You Develop a Video Chat App:
There are three major features a video chat app can have: video calling, conferencing, and education. Other minor features include a working platform (iOS, Android, Web, Xbox…), conferencing features like chat during live videos, and screen sharing. You should also consider encryption and other data security measures.
1. Video Calling: This is a fundamental feature to consider in video calling app development. With video calling, you can contact friends, family members, coworkers, and partners from countries away. Your app can also allow users to connect with landlines, provide virtual phone numbers, and connect with phones.
2. Education: During the Global Pandemic, video chat apps became the go-to guys for educational institutes. Universities and colleges realized they could efficiently pass knowledge and teach children remotely without exposing them to the risks of in-class lectures. And it worked perfectly! Today, classes are held via Zoom Meetings, and many companies have sprung up to allow people to commit to distance learning.
Udemy is an institution that connects teachers and students and allows people to learn remotely, chat with their instructors, and bag certificates. If people had to rely on in-class teaching methods all the time, education would have remained expensive. Today, we have students bagging their first degree and even Master's online, thanks to Zoom and co.
3. Conferencing: Conferencing is the centerfield of video chat apps, especially if you want to create a video chat app for business and education purposes. People must connect seamlessly through video and participate efficiently in remote conversations. Conferencing requires a lot more users than video calls. Webinar conveners can host over a thousand participants in a single session.
In conclusion, after you determine your video chat app's core and extensive features, you need to consider funding, marketing, and the technical talents required to bring your chat app to live. Learning how to build a video chat app can be arduous, so it’s vital to decide early on if it is a project worth taking on and determine if your startup can meet the project’s needs.
3. Conferencing: Conferencing is the centerfield of video chat apps, especially if you want to create a video chat app for business and education purposes. People must connect seamlessly through video and participate efficiently in remote conversations. Conferencing requires a lot more users than video calls. Webinar conveners can host over a thousand participants in a single session.
In conclusion, after you determine your video chat app's core and extensive features, you need to consider funding, marketing, and the technical talents required to bring your chat app to live. Learning how to build a video chat app can be arduous, so it’s vital to decide early on if it is a project worth taking on and determine if your startup can meet the project’s needs.
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