On Thursday, WhatsApp officially unveiled several feature enhancements regarding video calling for both mobile and desktop clients. The participant limit for the group video call has increased on various platforms; the participants are allowed to be up to 32 in one call, while before, the WhatsApp Desktop application used to allow only eight people in a single call. Besides the augmentation of the video calling feature, users can now share their voice when they are sharing their screen with other participants.
Check Out The New Features Of WhatsApp
- Among the new items – screen sharing with audio. This is handy, especially when you wish to watch a video together or discuss something on the screen during a call. Earlier one could share their screen but now friends and family can listen to what is going on along with seeing the screen which is a lot more engaging.
- In screen sharing with audio, users can now share videos. When users share their screens, they can share audio as well. Earlier this year, WhatsApp had added video screen sharing and now, it has added voice screen sharing as well.
- Increased participants are now possible to have video calls with up to 32 participants across devices. Before, the participant number was capped at 32 for mobile devices, 16 for Windows, and 8 for macOS.
Meta Low Bitrate (MLow)
WhatsApp has always focused on delivering high-quality calls and these changes are in line with this strategy. With the introduction of the new MLow codec reliability of calls has increased tremendously. For mobile users, this means improved noise and echo suppression to ensure your calls are much clearer even in noisy environments. This codec provides twice the audio quality of the previous Opus codec while consuming 10% less computational resources. MLow is currently used in calls on Instagram and Messenger and it will be integrated into WhatsApp.