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You Can Now Do Group Video and Audio Calls on Echo Devices

Video calls have become clutch this year, and just in time for the holidays, Amazon is launching the ability to do group video and audio calls via Amazon Echo devices.

The group calling feature will allow up to seven people to join a group call using commands like, “Alexa, call my family,” or, “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting.” Users will be able to create groups, and once that group is created, any member can then initiate either a video or audio call—provided they have a supported device, such as the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show. In the U.S., Amazon is also adding compatibility with Zoom and Amazon Chime, but you’ll have to have an Echo Show 8.

Amazon is also enabling a near real-time captioning feature for one-on-one video and audio calls, as well as Drop Ins, which is a nice touch. This only applies to Echo Show devices, but is actually a pretty cool feature for folks who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Amazon is also enabling children with a Fire Kids Edition tablet or a Fire tablet loaded with the Amazon Kids app to make Alexa-to-Alexa voice and video calls—but only to contacts pre-approved by their parents.

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