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Looking for the best video conferencing service? Here’s a guide

We’ve got you covered for work as well as casual meetings

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The Coronavirus pandemic has forced everyone indoors and companies are scrambling to adopt the work-from-home model. While larger companies deal directly with service providers under the B2B setup, individuals or smaller teams are having a hard time picking the right video conferencing service or app.

Before we get started, you need to ask yourself about your requirements. How big is your team? How well equipped is your team? Most importantly, how do you intend to use the service?

1. Zoom

Zoom is among the most popular video conferencing platforms for businesses. It is feature-rich, with various plans based on size and needs. Prices range from free for basic personal meetings to US$ 19.99/month/host for large enterprises with a minimum of 100 hosts. It’s desktop as well as mobile apps are straightforward and require bare-minimum hardware to run.

However, the service has risen to fame too soon amid the pandemic and couldn’t keep up with stringent safety as well as privacy norms. If your business deals with sensitive information that needs guaranteed protection, we’d suggest staying away from this service for now. But, it isn’t that unsafe to use and is perfect for general domestic as well as business needs.

2. Skype / Microsoft Teams

The name is synonymous with video conferencing and pioneered the industry more a decade ago. Now owned by Microsoft, it’s a robust platform that’s well integrated with other Microsoft services like Outlook and even Office. If your workflow is based on the Microsoft ecosystem, this should be your go-to option. However, Skype is limited inherently and recommended for individual or casual meetings with friends and family.

For work or businesses, Microsoft Teams is a collaborating tool like Slack that intends to replace emails and make workplace connectivity even more streamlined. You can add up to 100 participants in one call and that’ll be soon upgraded to 250 in the coming weeks. Both the services have free as well as paid plans depending on the requirement.

3. Google Hangouts / Google Meet

Just like Microsoft’s offering, Google Hangouts has been around for a long time and the go-to option for many. It was designed to offer group video calling, but for domestic or casual use. It’s also deeply integrated into Google’s ecosystem of services and often competes against the companies another offering — Google Duo.

For work or business-related usage, Google was quick to launch Google Meet. In simpler terms, it’s an upgraded version of Google Hangouts and can accommodate up to 100 users at once and has both, paid as well as free plans. However, it’s more generous than Zoom and gives free users a 60-minute usage window than just 40.

4. Facebook Messenger Rooms:

While every tech giant is going after the video-conferencing trend, Facebook felt left out as well and debuted a feature called Messenger Rooms. It allows up to 50 people to take part in a video chat, even if they don’t have Facebook accounts. In line with Facebook’s history with Instagram, it lets you add augmented reality (AR) filters like bunny ears and more.

We’d suggest using this app for casual calls with your friends and acquaintances or hosting informal “rooms” with your colleagues or Meetup events. Facebook’s history with privacy hasn’t been spick-and-span and we don’t encourage enterprises to use this service.

5. WhatsApp / FaceTime:

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app and is known for its simplicity yet feature-rich offerings. When compared to the rest of the services, this one lets you add only eight users in a group video call. And, that’s the intended purpose. The app is super casual and best for waking up that one friend who has been sleeping too much during the lockdown.

The same goes for FaceTime, Apple’s in-house messaging, and video calling service. If you’re a micro-team, these solutions would very well work for you. But as you grow, these tools are insufficient to get work done and are standalone apps that offer nothing more than just the basics.

Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

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As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.

SEE ALSO: These are the best Android 17 features (if you hate AI)

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Disney+ is moving to a global app experience

Disney+ is going global.

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Disney Plus | Marvel

Disney is rolling out its new Disney+ app to markets that have been using a separate, Hotstar-derived version of the service.

The change is already happening across several regions, with Southeast Asia among the markets affected. Disney+ subscribers in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries will transition to the newer app experience as Disney works toward a more unified global platform.

For Philippine subscribers, Disney+ has confirmed that the migration will happen on October 7, 2026.

The company notified subscribers this week that the existing app will eventually be replaced by a new Disney+ app. No action is required yet, and subscribers can continue using the current app until Disney provides further instructions.

The migration is part of a broader effort to bring Disney+ users onto the same core platform.

From Hotstar to a global Disney+ app

The distinction between the old and new experiences goes back to Disney’s international expansion.

Disney used a Hotstar-derived version of its streaming platform in several markets, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, and markets across the Middle East and North Africa.

That version provided a localized Disney+ experience, but it operated separately from the main Disney+ platform used across many other international markets.

Disney began simplifying its streaming brands in 2025. In Southeast Asia, Disney+ Hotstar was rebranded simply as Disney+, while the Star general-entertainment brand was replaced by Hulu. At the time, Disney said the rebrand would bring a more consistent Disney+ experience, although the available content would remain tailored to each market.

The next step is now happening at the app level.

Egypt began moving to the new Disney+ app on September 2, followed by Indonesia on September 3. South Africa is scheduled for September 9, while Thailand is set to follow on September 16. Malaysia and the Philippines are scheduled for October 7.

This makes the Philippine migration part of a much larger transition rather than an isolated local update.

A more familiar Disney+ experience

The new app brings affected markets closer to the current Disney+ experience elsewhere.

Disney redesigned the global app earlier this year with a new For You homepage, improved personalization, redesigned navigation, more prominent profiles, and additional content hubs. Depending on the market and subscription, the interface can also surface Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN sections.

Disney has also been expanding the platform’s international language support. In July, the company added 17 languages, bringing Disney+ to 58 audio languages, with the user interface available in more than 30 languages and subtitles or closed captions available in as many as 42. The expansion included Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

The company has described these updates as part of its effort to make Disney+ a more accessible and localized service for audiences around the world.

The migration also brings practical changes for subscribers.

In the Philippines, Disney says existing subscribers can continue using their current account and subscription. However, profiles, watchlists, and viewing history will not transfer to the new platform. Philippine subscribers will therefore need to set up their profiles and watchlists again after moving to the new app.

The subscription itself does not require an additional charge because of the migration. Existing billing cycles will also remain in place.

The catalog will still depend on where you are

Moving to the global Disney+ app does not mean every country will suddenly receive the same library.

Disney continues to operate its streaming service according to regional content rights. Its own Help Center notes that content availability can differ by country or region, and that some titles may not be available in a subscriber’s current location.

That means a subscriber in the Philippines, for example, will still see a catalog determined by the rights Disney has for the Philippine market. The same applies to subscribers in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, or any other market making the transition.

What is becoming more global is the platform itself.

That brings Disney+ closer to the model used by other major streaming services, where subscribers can use a common app experience across markets while the actual catalog changes depending on where they are.

The distinction is particularly relevant for people who travel. Disney’s global Help Center says subscribers abroad can stream content available in the country or region they are visiting, meaning the service’s location-based availability rules still apply even on the unified platform.

Disney has been signaling this direction for some time. In 2025, the company said its redesigns were leading toward a “fully integrated unified app experience” in 2026. The latest migrations appear to be the next major step toward that goal.

For subscribers in the remaining Hotstar-derived markets, then, the biggest change isn’t necessarily what’s available to watch.

It’s where and how they access Disney+.

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Canva teams up with SB19 to turn A’TIN’s passion into creativity

Campaign lets fans access assets, editable templates, more

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Canva Philippines has joined forces with SB19 and Sony Music Entertainment to launch the “Kaya sa Canva” campaign.

This first-of-its-kind initiative is aimed at transforming the popular Filipino boy band’s fanbase into creators by giving them access to official design assets, exclusive templates, and powerful creative tools.

That’s of course as fans have a way of creating artwork, banners, and more outputs to honor their idols.

As such, the partnership enables the A’TIN (SB19’s fanbase) to access the Canva-exclusive SB19’s Creative Hub.

This dedicated space lets fans access assets, including SB19-inspired sticker packs, custom typography, and editable templates inspired by the group.

Fans around the world will initially have access to templates for photo-booth strips, wallpapers, posters, and videos.

The campaign will then expand with Canva-exclusive assets celebrating the group’s New Era, as well as their latest single, “Lawless”.

Meanwhile, the original song “KAYA” is accompanied with an upbeat music video, doubling as a love letter to A’TIN and a masterclass in Canva’s tools.

Every visual and animation is fan-inspired, a celebration of the creativity, passion, and dedication that’s defined in the community from day one.

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