A few lines of code to make an interesting feature even more useful and intuitive: WhatsApp has woken up and started releasing continuous novelties that improve the app and the platform
The new course of WhatsApp, made of continuous novelties and small and large improvements to the platform and the app, continues and, with it, continues the run-up to Telegram. Pavel Durov's messaging app, in fact, is still a long way from WhatsApp's numbers, but it's growing steadily and is being developed at an incredible rate.
The latest novelty, just introduced by WhatsApp, concerns group video calls. This is not a revolution, but a small refinement that makes the user interface of the application more comfortable to use and, therefore, more modern and in line with the needs of users. To be precise, we are talking about an update that concerns "joinable group calls", that is, group calls to which it is possible to connect later. A feature that was introduced at the end of July and for which there is now a new interface that makes it more comfortable to enter the call (both audio and video) and, above all, makes it more unlikely that we won't notice that there is a call in which we can participate.
New WhatsApp video calls: what changes
With the introduction of joinable group calls in July, WhatsApp initially planned that such calls would be convenient and easy to reach by accessing the "Calls" tab on the app's main screen. In this tab, then, a handset icon appears if there's an audio-only call in progress and a camera icon in case of a video call.
Now everything becomes even simpler: you no longer need to go looking for the call in the list, but just open the group chat within which the call is in progress and tap the new "Join" button.
It's a more intuitive mechanism, because normally if we know that one of our WhatsApp groups is on a call, then we naturally tend to open that group and not look for the call within the appropriate list. A small change, then, but it is definitely useful and functional.
WhatsApp continues to improve
This small change to group calls is being released globally: those who do not see it yet, will just have to wait for its arrival. Other news, more substantial, have been released by WhatsApp in recent weeks and testify to the new course of development undertaken.
The most recent is that of encrypted backups in the cloud, on Google Drive or iCloud, a measure that has become necessary to further protect the privacy of users but that, potentially, is risky and should be used with knowledge of the facts.
Another very important innovation recently released by WhatsApp is the ability to transfer all chats, including history and attachments, from an iPhone phone to an Android phone. Again, this is a very delicate feature, because it involves the end-to-end encryption process of the chats and concerns the privacy of users, which still needs further development to be 100% functional.
After long years of semi immobility, however, WhatsApp has finally woken up and started listening to its users, who are increasingly demanding.