T-Mobile brings native video calling to select Android phones

T-Mobile isn’t normally one to take a break from bringing its customers new features. A little over a month ago, the Uncarrier put a focus on making SMS and MMS much better through its Advanced Messaging initiative, and now the carrier is at it again, but this time with a focus on video calling.

T-Mobile has just announced T-Mobile Video Calling, which will bring native video calling to select Android devices’ dialer applications. Of course, video calling is nothing new to mobile devices, but this new feature will allow you to place and receive video calls without the need to download a third party application. On mobile devices with this feature built-in, you’ll see small camera icons next to a contact that has a device that’s able to receive video calls. If your contact doesn’t have a smartphone that can take video calls, the camera icon will be grayed out.

You’ll be able to place these video calls to and from your compatible device using your data connection or over Wi-Fi. This feature will also be able to switch between LTE and Wi-Fi without a hitch, which means your calls won’t drop if you leave your home while in a chat.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ will have T-Mobile Video Calling built-in, available through a small software update that’s rolling out today. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will receive the update sometime next week. Of course, this feature will make it’s way to other devices in the future. T-Mobile says three more will get the updates by the end of the year, bringing the total number of compatible smartphones to seven.