WhatsApp has announced that its video calling features have been significantly improved, allowing users to watch videos together over the phone. This improves upon the August of last year’s unveiling of the screen-sharing feature.
On all devices, the maximum number of participants in a WhatsApp video call has been increased to 32.
Prior to this, there was an eight participant maximum for Windows and macOS users and a thirty-two participant maximum for mobile users.
Comparing WhatsApp to Apple FaceTime, which supports up to 32 users, this is accurate.
One notable new feature is the speaker spotlight, which automatically highlights the person speaking in a video conversation so that they are visible on the screen.
The Meta Low Bitrate (MLow) codec was also made available by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, to improve call reliability, especially on older devices or in low-network situations.
MLow promises twice the audio quality with 10% less computational complexity than Opus, the previous codec.
This codec, which is now being used for calls on Instagram and Messenger, is also being rolled out on WhatsApp in an effort to enhance calling experiences across Meta platforms.
Over the next few weeks, WhatsApp says all eligible users will be able to obtain these improvements.
