Why You Should Choose An Audio Calling App Over A Video Calling One
One of the most common questions among mobile users is, “Should I use a video calling app or an audio calling app?”
Video calls are all the rage these days, but a handful of benefits come with audio conferencing that makes it much easier and more efficient than its video counterpart.
There are both advantages and disadvantages for both, but the age-old audio call technology truly shines in certain situations.
Audio Conferencing Is More Productive
“Sorry, we’ll get started soon. We’re facing some technical difficulties.”
“Sorry, we’ll get started soon. We’re currently facing some network issues.”
We’ve all heard sentences like that before during a video call.
When was the last time you suffered from a bad video call experience due to network issues, technical difficulties, bad resolution, or poor audio quality?
Last month? Last week? Yesterday?
It’s most definitely an annoying experience.
Technical glitches and network issues often hinder important meetings and cause unnecessary delays. That is something that not only results in wasted time but also results in lost dollars.
Over time, the economic impact of these “small” issues will compound.
Most larger audio conferencing providers have mastered technology from a quality standpoint.
Audio calls don’t suffer from as many technical glitches. They also don’t require the latest laptops or smartphones or lag due to lousy internet. They simply use the latest technology and route calls to the nearest data center.
So in this particular avenue, audio conferencing is so much better.
Another great advantage of audio is the dial-out option. If the system connects everyone on time, then join-time delays reduce and guess what you are left with?
Better productivity!
Audio calls keep interactions concise and to the point, meaning they significantly save your time and, eventually, your money.
Audio Conferencing Is Better For Your Mental Wellbeing
When it comes to technology, newer is not always better.
Research has identified that the age-old telephonic technology of audio conferencing is better for mental wellbeing as compared to its video counterpart.
A study that surveyed over 2000 individuals in the US identified that “voice calls were associated with less stress, loneliness, and relationship maintenance difficulties” as compared to video calls.
And quite honestly that isn’t surprising because it’s so much easier to just talk on the phone.
You don’t really have to worry about your appearance, your background, your internet connectivity and so much more.
And after several months of endless video calls, video fatigue is very real. Early in 2020, video calls felt like the best way to keep up with your social life but now simple phone calls do the trick!
Audio Calls Provide Better Security
Video conferencing is a fairly new technology and it does come with several security complications.
Chances are many reading this may have experienced one or two invasive video call experiences in 2020. While “Zoom bombings” can be funny in some cases, in most it could also threaten the leak of confidential information.
On the flip side, audio calls are incredibly secure, making it difficult for perpetrators or hackers to hack into a call and disturb the participants.
And after being in the market for years, audio conferencing companies have improved their technology to avoid more sophisticated information breaches.
Audio Conferencing Is Simpler
Not everyone is comfortable speaking in a video call as compared to an audio call. And especially during remote work because it can be taxing to get dressed and find a place with no distractions for every video call.
It is also taxing to find the right device and ensure it’s all set for that not-very-easy-to-use platform.
For some (lucky ones), audio conferencing happens from the comfort of their insanely remote location in the comfort of their non-smartphone device!
Audio Conferencing Is A Lot More Scalable
Developing video conferencing systems over the Internet is challenging since such communications require high bandwidth and low latency.
In addition, the processing of audio and video streams is computing-intensive.
Therefore, it is challenging to develop scalable video conferencing systems that support many users with various capabilities.
Current video conferencing systems can not fully address the problem of scalability and remote location accessibility.
But audio conferencing systems certainly can.
And Most Importantly, Audio Conferencing Is Flexible
When multiple stakeholders are involved, it’s so much easier to facilitate an audio conference as compared to a video conference.
In addition to that, audio calls are more flexible as they don’t require participants to download multiple applications to enable their participation.
Audio calls can be initiated with or without the internet, without the latest smartphones, and several other troubleshooting struggles that come with video, whether via the cloud or an app.
What’s more, most people are used to telephonic conversations from a young age. So this not only makes audio-only conferences user-friendly and makes them more accessible when compared with video conferences.
But isn’t audio-only mode on a video calling app the same as using an audio calling app?
Hmm. Good question!
We might as well use a video calling app with an audio-only mode to get the above-mentioned benefits of audio, right?
Right. And wrong.
Right, because you’ll enjoy the wellbeing that comes with “no video”.
Wrong, because you’ll not enjoy faster join times, better security, simplicity, scalability or even flexibility!
Sure, you can use a chair as a ladder, i.e., using video as audio. And it might work perfectly.
But in the end, if you want the job done right and (consistently) without fail, then you’ll need to get that ladder.
So the question is — will you use a chair or a ladder?
Whichever way you go, we wish you well.
