WhatsApp is preparing to launch calls and video calls from the desktop version to the web as well: what's changing
Calls and video calls could be coming soon for WhatsApp Web users as well. Developers are working on an update to the desktop version of the popular messaging app, adding a feature that has long been requested by users.
To reveal that calls and video calls will soon land on WhatsApp Web is the site WABetaInfo, which shows a preview of the interface of the desktop version of the messaging app with new dedicated buttons. For several months, developers have been working to improve WhatsApp's video chat system and last April, in the middle of lockdown, the possibility of group calls up to 8 participants was included. The new feature for WhatsApp Web is still in the testing phase and there is still no official date for release, but it could still be very close.
WhatsApp Web, the new feature
In the previews shown by the WABetaInfo site of the new WhatsApp Web interface appear new buttons to initiate calls and video calls. For callers, a box will appear directly in the chat at the top right of the screen with a menu to choose whether to initiate a call or video call. For those who receive, again in the upper right corner will open a box with the name of the contact, the type -if call or video call- and three distinct buttons "Reject", "Accept" and "Ignore".
WhatsApp Web, when will calls arrive
At the moment the new feature of calls and video calls for WhatsApp Web is a beta version and still in the testing phase, so there is still no official release date for the update of the desktop version. Then again, the ability to include calls and video calls for WhatsApp Web as well has been under consideration by developers for some time, and the first rumors about the launch of this additional feature date back to 2019. Since then, however, the feature has never been released and perhaps it could be coming right now, since neither confirmations nor denials on the circulating rumors have come from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Web, what it is and how it works
WhatsApp Web is the desktop version of the popular instant messaging app that allows you to chat with your contacts directly from the browser on your computer, without having to download any software or app. To be able to send and receive messages, photos, videos and documents with WhatsApp Web you need both the smartphone where the app is installed and the PC on which the desktop version is open to be connected to the internet.
To associate the smartphone with the device you will need to open the app, tap on the three dots in the upper right corner and from the pop-up menu select WhatsApp Web and in the screen that opens the "+" sign in the upper right corner. This will open a screen that activates the camera that can frame the QR Code displayed on the browser when you open WhatsApp Web for the first time. By scanning the QR Code, your devices will be paired and you will be able to conveniently use the chat on your PC.