Rumors of WhatsApp getting video calling feature has been doing the rounds for quite some time now with the feature even appearing in a beta version of the app for Android, albeit briefly.
Of course WhatsApp isn’t offering any explanation at the moment though what is amply clear is that they are busy incorporating the said feature in their app. Video calling temporarily appeared on the beta release of WhatsApp for Android, version 2.16.81.
Reports of the messaging app being revamped to include the video calling feature first began to appear in mainstream media last year when a German site first carried actual footage of the said feature in action. There have been quite a few months in between with the feature making headline along tech circles often and on. Now with the feature appearing in the beta version of the app for Android, things do seem to have reached a pretty advanced stage with an official release not too far off, it seems.
As of now, the Video calling feature seems to be controllable from the WhatsApp server, making it available to a select group of users in a specific region for a brief period of time for testing before turning it off. The company had resorted to the same tactics in the run up to the launch of audio calling last year and the same is getting repeated with the video calling feature as well.
https://inferse.com/41919/whatsapp-for-windows-pc-and-mac-is-an-extension-of-whatsapp-web/
Video calling can also be considered to the next logical frontier for the WhatsApp team to conquer. The app has already integrated voice calling for Android, iOS and Windows last year. Now with video calling set to be part of its bouquet of services, this will no doubt make the now almost ubiquitous WhatsApp app have on offer a complete communication solution, be it text, audio or video.
Also, with the ultimate makeover, WhatsApp will also be in direct competition with Skype. It will be interesting to see how things pan out once WhatsApp joins Skype to woo users with a similar set of features.
