WhatsApp has simply upgraded its video calls characteristic with two new large options, together with a screen-sharing characteristic that sees it rival FaceTime, Zoom and Groups.
For those who repeatedly end up in video chats the place you’d prefer to share images or dwell internet pages with family and friends, you may quickly be capable to do this on Android, iOS, and Home windows.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the brand new characteristic on Fb (beneath) alongside the caption “we’re including the power to share your display screen throughout a video name on WhatsApp”.
Whereas clearly designed to tempt you away from the likes of Zoom and Groups, WhatsApp’s new screen-sharing characteristic is not simply designed for work displays. As a result of you possibly can share your display screen or an app, Meta thinks you may even be utilizing it to share picture galleries, plan holidays or assist your grandparents with tech issues.
The characteristic is being rolled out progressively, so you might not see it instantly within the app, however as soon as it is accessible you can share your display screen by beginning a video name, then tapping the ‘share’ icon on the backside of the display screen (see bottom-left within the picture beneath) tapping ‘proceed’ on the pop-up field, then hitting ‘begin now’.
This characteristic has been accessible for WhatsApp beta testers on Android since Might, however is now getting a full rollout alongside one other new characteristic – a devoted panorama mode for video calls, which WhatsApp says will provide a “wider and extra immersive viewing and sharing expertise”.
Because the picture above reveals, each WhatsApp enhancements have landed within the run-up to Meta Join, which kicks off on September 27 and can embody the announcement of the Meta Quest 3.
A busy time for WhatsApp
The brand new WhatsApp screen-sharing characteristic, which you’ll be able to see above, must be a preferred addition to the app’s ever-growing record of options, which it has been bolstering at a speedy tempo this yr.
In latest months, we have seen the arrival of video messages and eight-person video calls on Home windows desktop. Beta testers have additionally been tinkering with Companion Mode, which helps you to use your account on as much as 4 units concurrently.
These options adopted a number of different tweaks, together with the power to edit messages and Chat Lock, which locations your conversations behind a locked folder that may solely be accessed utilizing your telephone’s password or biometrics.
Clearly, Meta desires WhatsApp to not solely compete with FaceTime, Zoom and Groups, but in addition keep at bay different personal messaging apps like Telegram. Whereas there’s clearly a hazard of characteristic bloat, the thought of versatile ‘every part’ apps is rising – with Elon Musk’s X (previously Twitter) clearly after a few of that pie, too.
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