Amidst rumours of WhatsApp adding new features to its app, the long-rumoured video call feature has reportedly been made available, albeit in the beta version. Some Android beta version 2.16.80 users have spotted this feature, though it still remains non-functional. This means that these users of Android beta version 2.16.80 have the option of video call now being displayed in their WhatsApp but it hasn’t been made live yet. This confirms that the feature will be rolled out soon.
We are yet to see how WhatsApp plans on disseminating this feature to its users. Will it be selective by offering the feature through invite based system like it did while rolling out the voice call feature in its app? Only users who got the invite could use the voice call feature initially but it was later rolled out for broader use. Also, there are no updates as of when the video call feature would be made functional so that users can actually use it.
As per users, the already existing call button now shows two options in beta version of the app, one for an audio call and the other for a video call.
Users reported that when they tried to use the new feature they received a message saying “Couldn’t place call. Video Call is unavailable at this time.”
With the addition of video call option, some part of the rumour that WhatsApp is to add some new features to its app, has been confirmed. Other speculated features expected to be made available soon include vcf file support, voice mail and invites via NFC tags.
Earlier this week, WhatsApp also added document sharing feature to its WhatsApp Web, which earlier only allowed sharing of videos and images.
