Yes, if you’ve read the title above, you very well know what you’re in here for. The Facebook-owned messaging behemoth WhatsApp is today introducing the most requested ‘Video Calling ‘ feature to users who’ve joined the beta program on Android. This feature is already said to be under testing on Windows smartphones for the past couple of days.
WhatsApp has introduced video calling on the beta version #2.16.318 of the app. Though the feature is believed to be available in underlying code for past couple of months, it is only today that it has officially surfaced for testing. You will need the latest beta update to make and receive WhatsApp video calls from your device. But it is being said that users on the previous beta update #2.16.316 can receive video calls but not make one.
Now comes the important segment that you’ve all been craving from the start. How do you make a video call on WhatsApp!?
Let’s just say, it is literally as simple as placing a voice call. WhatsApp instead of adding another new button for video calls has baked-in the functionality right within the calling button on the top right.
To place a video call, tap on the call button in the chat interface and you’ll be greeted with two options: voice call and video call. Now you know what to tap(ps shh.. its video call). Tap the video call option and you’ll instantly notice your camera active. It will open an interface similar to the voice calling one, but instead the profile picture is now replaced by your video feed.
To be possible to place/receive a video call, both users need to have the latest beta version of the messaging client. If not, WhatsApp will show you an error message saying that the person you’re calling needs to install the latest update to jump on this new feature train. The video calling feature is currently unavailable on iOS devices.
The functionality of the video call is currently expected to be fairly basic and nothing too fancy like Google Duo. I haven’t had the chance to test the video and audio quality along with latency of the call but I’ll update you on the same, once I do. Till then, if you want to try out video calling on your WhatsApp, join the Android Beta Program and update your app.
