WhatsApp has announced that it is testing a new multitasking feature “Picture in Picture” on iOS which will be available in 2023.
Picture-in-picture (PiP) tech shrinks the window of a video so that it continues to play while users navigate through other apps or access the Home Screen. Users can move the small video player and position it anywhere on the screen. The PiP support on WhatsApp is likely to improve the video calling experience on the app.
Picture in Picture on iOS: Now in beta testing and rolling out in 2023, easily multitask while on a call thanks to a minimized in-call video screen.
Days away from the start of a new year, the company also did a recap of the new features introduced to improve the group calling experience on WhatsApp in 2022. Here is the list of all the new changes added this year.
New group calling features introduced for WhatsApp in 2022
- For group calls, increased the number of participants from 4 to up to 32-participants on voice or video calls on mobile.
- Option to message or mute any participant in a group call. Simply by “long pressing on a participant will enlarge the video or audio feed and allow you to either mute or message them separately, while keeping the calls going.”
- Create and share call links to invite participants to a group video or audio call.
- Added colorful waveforms to make speakers more visible, especially when their cameras are off.
- New in-call banner notifications to show when someone new joins a group call.
The company reiterated that calls are protected with end-to-end encryption.
As always, all calls on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default to protect people’s privacy and safety. We’ll keep making improvements to calling next year as we continue supporting high quality, private calling on WhatsApp wherever you are in the world.
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