X is set to release a new professional video calling feature that will essentially offer Zoom-like functionality within the X app.
As you can see This exampleposted by X Engineer Chris ParkX is building a working version of a video conferencing platform, and owner Elon Musk said: Already in use for internal meetings.
The new option will appear as a separate feature (as “Meeting”) on the right-hand feature bar and, when activated, will include full video streaming capabilities for participants.
The number of participants visible on screen hasn't been disclosed, but X's video calling options, which were rolled out to all users in February, are currently far more limited than the video chat options on other apps.
So presumably X conference calls will be limited to four on-screen participants, although there may be consideration to increasing this number to better align with Zoom and other conference chat apps.
This update is another step towards Elonās vision of the platform becoming the āeverything appā and fulfilling all interactive and transactional needs in one place.
In fact, when X's new voice and video calling features were activated in February, Musk said: Delete his numberX can now fulfill all of his communication needs.
But at the same time, the basic features likely won't be enough to get more people to rely on X more. Elon certainly has a grand vision for this app, but the challenge he's struggled with so far is that not everyone sees the same value in these tools.
For example, while X could replace your phone, as Musk claims, I'm not convinced many people are going to turn off their devices and use X as their primary connectivity tool just yet, because there are so many other things you can do on your phone, including accessing X, that there's not much value in building that functionality into an app.
Musk is also keen to add payments and banking services, but people already have other options for both and see no reason to move to potentially less reliable or secure payment/banking services.
You can post long-form articles on X, but doing so will dilute the revenue you could make by posting the same article on other platforms, like your own blog or email list.
Essentially, if Elon wants X to become a significant utility for millions of people, he's probably going to have to soften the terms, because while these options certainly offer alternatives to other apps and providers, they're not decisively better, cheaper, or more functional, at least not yet.
So, as always, the broader X project boils down to two questions: Can Elon actually build the full-featured app he envisions, and even if he does, will anyone actually use it?
This is pretty much the same perspective I'm looking at this update from. Sure, X's conference calls are going to be a basic alternative to Zoom or Google Meet, but those tools already exist and are arguably more functional than a newly built platform that's still working to add new elements.
Is option X better than what already exists? I don't think so. If it wasn't better, I don't see why people would adopt it on a mass scale or how it would act as an incentive to get more people to sign up for X's premium service.
But it's another element within X, and if you do a lot of work there, it's another option to consider.