• Dasus@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It’s honestly amazing that we had GPRS video calls in the late 2000s but still don’t have them in the era of the smartphone

    Not really.

    There plenty of resources if you want to video call. WhatsApp, TG, Signal or even (lol) Skype, have videocalls.

    It’s just that why would you?

    Most calls you definitely don’t need video, and often it’d be a downright negative thing. You need to look at the screen and look presentable, as opposed to being able to do things while on the phone.

    The reason videocalls aren’t more popular is the same exact reason Google Glass isn’t.

    • jol@discuss.tchncs.de
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      8 months ago

      Well, yeah, no shit. Apps had to replace what was a native phone functionality. But it’s still true we lost something. You need a data plan to make video calls while before you could have just your minutes. Of course, it’s rare that someone has no data plan but still. Phone calls are still useful even if you mostly to calls via apps.