WhatsApp has been testing voice and video call support for its desktop app on Mac and Windows since late last year, but the chapter has finally been closed. As a result, the feature is now rolling out to all of its users on the desktop.
Video calls on WhatsApp desktop will work in both portrait and landscape mode.
However, the Facebook-owned instant messaging app has some reservations about the new voice and video call feature on the desktop — for a start. For now, users can only place on-on-one voice and audio calls. WhatsApp says it will add support for group calls down the line.
Besides, the new feature is not available on WhatsApp Web – the browser version of the app. Only the desktop app has been served, and the company will not rollout the two features on the web just yet.
The new feature adds convenience to many work-from-home folks who’ve always had to pick up their phones to make or receive WhatsApp calls.
The company didn’t specify when the feature should be extended to the web, but the platform has been continuously spotted running tests. But now that it is available on desktop, users who fancy using WhatsApp on the web can simply switch to the dedicated app on Mac or Windows to use the feature.
WhatsApp says the desktop client will be “set to be always on top, so you never lose your video chats in a browser tab or stack of open windows.”
Voice and video calling first rolled out to WhatsApp in 2015 and 2016, respectively, although the company has been silent on exact usage numbers.
In January, WhatsApp revealed it processed over 1.4 billion calls on New Year’s Eve. But this is when the usage of Facebook’s messaging apps peaks – both in messages and calls.
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