WHATSAPP ENHANCES VIDEO CALLING ADDING THREE NEW FEATURES

Sat 15 June 2024:

WhatsApp has upgraded its video calling capabilities, adding three key features: screen sharing with audio, support for up to 32 participants, and speaker spotlight. These enhancements align WhatsApp with rivals like Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Meet.

WhatsApp introduced the screen-sharing feature in August last year. Now, the company has further improved the feature by adding support for sharing audio with the screen. The new addition will allow users to watch videos with their friends and families on a WhatsApp call.

WhatsApp has also made another significant update to the number of participants a user can add to a video call. The updated version now allows up to 32 people to join a single video call across devices. Before this update, WhatsApp had a 32-participant limit on mobile devices, while users on Windows and macOS could add up to 16 and 8 participants, respectively.

This is similar to Apple’s FaceTime, which allows iPhone and iPad users to have up to 32 participants on video calls. On the other hand, Google Meet and Zoom allow up to 100 participants, even on their basic tiers.

The latest WhatsApp update also includes a feature called speaker spotlight, which automatically highlights the person talking during a video call and brings them to the forefront of the screen.

In addition, Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has introduced a new codec called Meta Low Bitrate (MLow) to improve call reliability, especially for users with poor network connectivity or older devices.

This new codec is an upgrade from the previously used Opus codec and is designed to provide twice the audio quality with 10 percent lower computational complexity.

MLow is already available on Instagram and Messenger calls and is now being rolled out on WhatsApp to improve the calling experience across Meta platforms.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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