WhatsApp has introduced many interesting new features in the recent months but the most eagerly awaited feature on WhatsApp was probably the video calling. In May this year, some users get their hands on the video calls on WhatsApp for a short time and now the company has unleashed the video calling a function to all users. The feature will get rolled out soon for Android mobiles, iOS mobiles, and Windows mobiles in coming days.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp is currently the most popular messaging app in India. The app can let you make video calls similar to Skype and FaceTime. The video calls will be free of cost; however, the users will have to pay for the cellular data usage for the calls against your data plan if Wi-Fi network is not available.
The video call feature has been added to more than one billion users across the Android, iPhone, and Windows devices. As per the company statement, there are over 160 million monthly active WhatsApp users in India; hence, India is the biggest market for the company. WhatsApp added that the new video calling service is optimized to work in India region poor internet connectivity.
The service optimization for slow internet connectivity will make these features available to everyone. Undoubtedly, the service will work excellent on faster internet connectivity. The new feature will be rolled out gradually to WhatsApp users with iPhone, Android, and Windows mobiles.
To recall, WhatsApp has added the video calling feature via the WhatsApp Beta app for selected users last month. The feature was used by some users in India and other countries and after the successful trials, now the feature has been rolled out to everyone.
Here’s how you can try out the new video calling feature in your smartphone:
The video calling feature on WhatsApp is compatible with devices with Android 4.1 and above. The feature is also available on iOS and Windows mobiles. Users will require updating their WhatsApp from stores for the feature to show up. As it gets updated, go to the app, click on the call button, you will see a new video calls option there alongside the existing voice calls.
Also, you can use the video calls feature just like WhatsApp voice calls. The video calls can also be made through person’s profile. When you will press the phone button on the top of chats, WhatsApp will provide you the choice to make a voice call or video call.
One additional feature while making video calls is the ability to minimize the video chats and using other apps on the phone. There is a green band which appears across all apps and clicking on which the video call returns.
With the new video calling feature, WhatsApp will compete with Apple’s FaceTime, Microsoft’s Skype, and newly launched Google Duo apps among others.
WhatsApp has introduced some new camera feature in the app which lets you customize and enhance the photos and videos before sharing with friends and family. With the new features, you can now draw and add emojis on photos and videos