X (Twitter) Begins the Roll Out of Audio and Video Call Feature for Android Users

Social networking platform X (formerly Twitter) has begun the rollout of audio and video call features directly on the app to its Android users.

One of the engineers working on the project disclosed this information on his X handle while stating that the feature would be for premium users. However, he noted that it would be free for everyone to receive calls.

audio and video calls on X slowly rolling out for android users today! update your app and call your mother

— Enrique ? (@enriquebrgn) January 18, 2024

Users can enable or disable this feature through privacy settings, to give them the ability to control who can call them.

The launch of the audio and Video call feature to X doesn’t come as a surprise, as the company’s CEO Linda Yaccarino in August 2023, had disclosed that the features will be coming to the platform in the latest step in X becoming the “everything app”.

“Soon you’ll be able to make video chat calls without having to give your phone number to anyone on the platform,” Yaccarino told CNBC’s Sara Eisen, after listing other features that X offers or plans to, like long-form videos and creator subscriptions, as well as payments.

The launch of the audio and video call feature on X will see it rival popular messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, and other social media apps that have rolled out the feature.

According to Musk, users would not need phone numbers to make calls on X. He said the features would work on different operating systems, including iOS, Android, Mac, and PC, meaning that users would also be able to make calls not only on their phones but also on computers.

The significant changes on X are part of Elon Musk’s plan to turn the app into an everything platform. Musk’s description of where Twitter is heading was even simpler. His goal is to transform the social network.

Since he took over Twitter last October, he has introduced lots of changes to the platform including making the blue check mark a subscription-only feature, introducing community notes, monetization of content, and the recent change of the company’s name to X, among several other changes.

Musk has shown a personal affinity with the letter X. He’s compared his ambitions for X (formerly Twitter), with the vision he had for another entity called X.com, a financial services company he founded in 1999 that ultimately became PayPal Holdings Inc.

As the platform begins the rollout of audio-video calls on X, which doesn’t require phone numbers, it is clear that Elon Musk continues to prove that innovation knows no bounds.