After Elon Musk and Trump's glitchy Spaces interview, X tests new video conferencing tool: "Already a strong alternative to Google Hangouts and certainly Microsoft Teams"

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X could give Microsoft Teams and competitors a run for their money with its new video conferencing tool.

X (formerly Twitter)
X (formerly Twitter) (Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

What you need to know

  • X is testing a new video conferencing tool to compete with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and more.
  • The tool ships with many features, including pinning main speakers and participants, notifications when someone leaves a meeting, and more. 
  • It's not yet clear when the tool will ship to general availability. 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations adopted hybrid work and the work-from-home approach to mitigate the further spread of the virus. Consequently, video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and more became crucial to foster effective and efficient communication within organizations. 

Since then, most organizations adopted remote work as part of their broader plan to cut operational costs. And as it happens, X (formerly Twitter) is seemingly joining the fray. According to a report by the folks over at TechCrunch, X is testing a new video conferencing tool that could potentially rival key players in the category.

Chris Park, an employee at X, indicated that the company had started testing the video conferencing tool on the social media platform. Park touted the tool as "already a really strong alternative to Google Hangouts, Zoom, AWS Chime, and certainly... Microsoft Teams." Initial feedback from users with early access to the tool seems fairly positive. The tool is expected to ship with the features highlighted below:

  • Better visuals or notification when someone leaves or joins
  • Ability to pin main speakers or participants
  • Less back and forth change on main panel so I don't keep seeing my awesome face (or yours)

X owner Elon Musk responded to Park's post on X with a fire emoji, a potential indication that the tool is in development awaiting broad deployment. Users seized this opportunity to cite the platform's Spaces feature:

"I wish x spaces looked this cool, I hate that x spaces doesn't have a live chat or horizontal group video. But it's one of the underrated features on x."

Park responded to the comment, indicating that these changes will be implemented on Spaces soon. According to app researcher Nian Owiji, X's new video conferencing tool will allow hosts to create a unique code for each meeting that participants can use to join. 

To this end, it remains unclear when X intends to ship the video conferencing tool to general availability. Details on whether X's Spaces feature or some of its elements are being integrated into the video conferencing tool remain slim, but it could be possible.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk and former US President Donald J. Trump had an interview on X's audio live-streaming feature, Spaces, to discuss politics and everything in between. However, the interview had a rocky start with users citing error messages, pitch silence, and blocked access to the live stream, accompanied by hold music. 

Musk quickly shifted the blame to a DDoS (distributed denial of service) cyberattack, which delayed the interview by over 40 minutes.

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Kevin Okemwa
Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.