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WhatsApp Improving Video Calling With Support for More People, Picture in Picture

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Apr 12, 2001
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Popular Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp today announced several improvements to video and audio calling, putting it on par with other platforms that support video calls.

Whatsapp-Feature.jpg

WhatsApp video calls on mobile devices now support up to 32 people, four times more than the previous eight person limit. Audio calls have supported 32 people for some time, but now video calls will as well. Apple's own FaceTime app supports 32 person video calls, so WhatsApp will now be able to better compete with FaceTime for large group video chats.

Long pressing on a participant in the call will enlarge the audio or video feed so you can mute people on a case by case basis or message them privately, and there's now an option to share a call link with people, something that's also an existing FaceTime feature.

There are new in-call banner notifications to alert users when someone new has joined a call, and for those with their camera off, waveforms are more colorful to make it easier to see who is speaking.

WhatsApp is also testing an iOS picture in picture feature that will allow WhatsApp users to multitask and use other apps while remaining on a video call, with this option set to roll out more widely in 2023.

WhatsApp for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: WhatsApp Improving Video Calling With Support for More People, Picture in Picture
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/12/14/whatsapp-video-call-improvements/
fwmireault said:
Seriously. I don't understand how they still don't have an iPad app in 2022. They certainly have the resources to do that, and their web application is trash
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do you use the web app? it opens a new safari tab each time for me , bugging me off

i wish i didnt have to use meta software, particularly whatsapp

thankfully i don't have to use instagram, and i can do without facebook for now
 
fwmireault said:
Thank you for that! It was in beta for quite some time if I recall. How stable it is?
Click to expand...
nearly perfect for me . still not as good as telegram in terms of features etc
but opens instantly , feels as smooth as butter, seems to support 120hz+
it was very hard to get into the beta tho, i wasted time and jumped within a second when i got a notification that there was an empty seat :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: fwmireault
I'm glad WhatsApp does make consistent upgrades to the product, but they often move sooooo slow. Like this limitation was highlighted for a long time and while 8 friends was plenty in the past, during the early pandemic days, a lot of video calls had more than 8 people. I sometimes wish their development moved much faster.

Another example is we haven't heard anything since the native silicon beta in July 2022. Discord got this done back in March!
 
Why is the video and audio not as good as FaceTime. Should at least be an option. iPad app may never come, ala Instagram
 
  • Like
Reactions: racerhomie
Adding unwanted feature after another unwanted feature, still cannot watch photos on my Apple Watch. Still cannot WhatsApp from my iPad. Thanks for nothing, Meta. 😑
 
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Reactions: jk73
Still no iPad app. Still no native app for the Mac after, what, a year of beta testing?
 
blazerunner said:
Yah, of course. I dont get it... how do you chat with people via whatsapp if you dont have your list of contacts?
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i can search for my contacts manually using the search bar

and i have all my already started conversations on the side .

besides i rarely start a conversation from my mac, usually start with my phone, then use the mac if i need to save a file or if i'm on desk
 
Love-hate 🍏 relationship said:
i can search for my contacts manually using the search bar

and i have all my already started conversations on the side .

besides i rarely start a conversation from my mac, usually start with my phone, then use the mac if i need to save a file or if i'm on desk
Click to expand...
So you have to SEARCH for a name to bring up an existing conversation instead of having a list of most recent conversations with people?
 
fromgophonetoiphone said:
I'm glad WhatsApp does make consistent upgrades to the product, but they often move sooooo slow. Like this limitation was highlighted for a long time and while 8 friends was plenty in the past, during the early pandemic days, a lot of video calls had more than 8 people. I sometimes wish their development moved much faster.

Another example is we haven't heard anything since the native silicon beta in July 2022. Discord got this done back in March!
Click to expand...
Discord has like what, 300 million users at best? Whatsapp has over 2 billion users. If Discord breaks, nothing much will happen other than some streamers complaining. If Whatsapp breaks, there are institutions and governments whom services will be disrupted. It makes sense that Whatsapp takes things slower to ensure robustness.

Recent whatsapp improvements have been great, especially since they have allowed migration over different platforms (iOS to Android and vice versa). E2ee on backups is also great. The only thing remaining on my wishlist is probably multiple account support on one client.
 
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