Media365
WhatsApp has announced a new update to its app for Android and iOS, bringing a horde of additional features that will improve the chatting and calling experience. The Meta-owned chat app has rolled out features such as online indicators, highlight notifications for group chats, better call quality with the ability to zoom into video calls on iOS, and tappable reactions for messages. Here is everything new for WhatsApp users.
– Pinch to zoom in or out on the video feed of both recipients and callers in video calls to see the person’s close-up.
– The latest update allows callers to add participants to an ongoing one-to-one call directly from the chat thread using the call button and then choosing ‘Add to call’.
– WhatsApp said it has also improved call quality with the new update, making audio calls smoother and video calls more reliable using the new routing technology. It claims the new technology reduces call drops and freezing of voice during calls, whereas better bandwidth detection allows for HD video quality.
– Users can now see which participant of a group chat is online at a time through new ‘online indicators’ under the group’s name.
– The new ‘Highlight Notifications’ feature will now let users choose when they want to be notified in a group chat using the new ‘Notify for’ setting. The Highlight option notifies users when they are mentioned or replied to or when saved contacts send them messages in a group. The setting is available for both Android and iOS.
– Events in one-to-one chats: WhatsApp has added an option to create events in individual chats, allowing the recipient to respond to the RSVP with a ‘maybe’. The events feature supports start and end times, along with the ability to be pinned.
– Users can now react to messages with a single tap. The default emoji can be set from the pop-up for all taps.
– iOS users can now set WhatsApp as their default chat or call app.
WhatsApp has also added features such as video notes in Channels, voice message transcripts, and QR codes for channels for the Updates Tab. These features will roll out in a phased manner, expected to reach all Android and iOS users in the coming weeks.
