During the annual F8 developer conference earlier this month, Facebook had announced that it will bring several new features to WhatsApp in the coming months. The promised improvements included new stickers and group audio and video calls on WhatsApp. Over the past few days, some iOS WhatsApp users have claimed of getting the new feature on their app. Now it seems the Facebook-owned company has begun rolling out the group calls feature to its Android users as well.
WhatsApp group calls
WhatsApp already supports one-on-one audio and video calls on both iOS and Android platforms. However, now with the new feature, WhatsApp allows up to four people to simultaneously participate in an audio or video call. To make a group call on WhatsApp, you first need to begin a one-on-one call with someone. When the call is answered, you can tap the add contact icon at the top right of the screen and select the contact you want to join the call.
When you’re receiving a group call request, you will see the avatars and either numbers or names of the persons already on the call, before you answer the call. So you can make a decision on whether you want to talk with those people at that time or not.
The new group calls feature for WhatsApp on Android is reportedly available to some users on the latest WhatsApp beta v2.18.162. However, it’s still not available for everyone, likely because this is a server-side rollout and is not dependent on the app version. The story is similar for iOS users as well. It will take some time, but will eventually reach every WhatsApp user in the world. We’ll keep checking and will let you know when it’s available for all. Meanwhile, you can try your luck by sideloading WhatsApp beta v2.18.162 from APK Mirror.
