WhatsApp is undoubtedly one of the most widely used instant messaging services worldwide and crossed 900 million monthly active users back in September. However one of the features missing from the Facebook-owned messaging app has been video call support, which gives an edge to competing apps such as Hangouts and Skype.
Now as per the rumored WhatsApp may soon give a tough competition to video calling apps such as Skype, FaceTime and others as the company is working to soon introduce the video calling feature to the app. However, no date has been announced for this functionality.
According to leaked screenshots by German website Macerkopf, the user interface will be quite similar to the voice calling function. One will also be able to use both, rear and front facing camera for video calling as well. The screenshots show the iOS app version and is also expected to add a multi-tab feature so as to make it easy for one to switch between different conversations and groups.
Based on the leaked screenshots, the WhatsApp video call interface appears to be similar to the voice call one, with green-dominated tabs. The leaked screenshots show that users will also get the option to mute as well as switch cameras while on video call.
According to the website, WhatsApp for iOS version 2.12.16.2 is being tested internally, and is the build that developers and beta testers are already testing video calling feature on. So far, there has been no word on video call support officially arriving to WhatsApp but speculation has it the feature may be rolled out early next year.
The report adds that the official version of WhatsApp, which is currently in the iOS App Store, carries the version number 2.12.12 and, developers along with beta testers are currently working on 2.12.16.2 version. In addition, the colour green will become more dominant in WhatsApp for iOS’. This is said to make the iPhone version more consistent with the Android version.
Apart from video calling, WhatsApp is also rumored to be testing a multi-tab UI which will allow users to jump from one conversation to another without going back to the main chat list. Details about multi-tab support on WhatsApp are limited as of now.
To recall, WhatsApp started rolling out voice calling support back in March with Android users. This was later rolled out to other platforms including iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phones. We can expect the company to start video calling rollout somewhere during the same period next year. Notably, Facebook’s standalone Messenger app already supports video calls.
In October, the company announced to let you backup conversations, photos and videos to Google Drive. Recently, it also added some much needed 3D Touch goodness for those using an Apple iPhone 6s. And for those with an older iPhone, WhatsApp had revamped settings menu that gets a dash of color and looks similar to the settings menu of your iPhone.
Besides, some other changes include changing the color of emojis just by presses and long-presses, and custom chat notifications. Another notable change is the option in seeing to use low data for WhatsApp calls.
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