X / Twitter rolls out audio and video calls for Android – but only if you’re paying for Premium
Finally – a way to make audio calls and video calls on your Android device.
Kidding aside, Elon Musk’s X has just begun rolling out the social media platform’s audio and video call feature to X for Android users.
The feature works exactly as it sounds. Users can make audio or video calls to other X users from within the app. But, there is one big drawback. Users need to be subscribers to X Premium, which costs $ 8 per month — or Premium+, which will set users back $ 16 per month — if they’d like to make a call.
However, any user can receive audio and video calls on X. Only the user placing the call has to pay.
Is this really what X users want?
Elon Musk wants to turn X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, into an “everything app.” Based on these features, private audio and video communication seems to play a role in Musk’s vision just as much as public posts, audio chats via Spaces, and video livestreaming.
X previously launched the audio and video call feature for iOS back in October 2023. It’s unclear, however, just how much it’s being used. The feature hasn’t caused much of a stir online when it comes to public chatter from X users.
Being able to call an X user from the app itself may sound interesting, and perhaps it could be useful if you know the user and just don’t have their contact information readily available. However, it also seems potentially rife for abuse from spammers and scammers. After all, if someone you urgently want to communicate with hasn’t provided you with their phone number or email address, there’s probably a good reason why.
Currently, X users can utilize the feature through their iOS and Android devices only.
X users can control who calls them – whether any Premium subscriber can give them a ring or if it’s limited to only users they follow or are in their phone’s address book – by going to their Settings in app and toggling the options in the Messaging section. These controls will likely come in handy in the event that the worst users on X decide to actually start fully utilizing audio and video calls.