WhatsApp voice-calling feature finally coming to iOS

WhatsApp voice-calling feature finally coming to iOS

WhatsApp enabled voice calling features for its Android users about a month ago, promising that support for iOS would come soon. Now, it appears that moment has come.

WhatsApp v2.12.1 on the Apple App Store brings support for WhatsApp Calling, which will allow iOS users to make calls to friends and family using their phone's Internet connection.

WhatsApp calls will be placed over users' data plans and could possibly help to circumvent the costly per-minute charges for overseas calls made using your service provider's voice minutes.

WhatsApp v2.12.1 for iOS also introduces new features like support for iOS 8 share extension, which allows users to share photos, videos and links directly to WhatsApp from other apps. A quick camera button has also been added to chats, enabling users to capture photos and videos from within the chat itself easily and select a recent photo or video to send from the camera roll.

If you've downloaded the update but can't use the voice call feature yet, fret not. Support for WhatsApp Calling is going out slowly to users over the next several week.

The roll out of wider voice calling support will put the new feature within the reach of an even larger portion of WhatsApp's vast user base.

To put things in context, WhatsApp recently announced that it had hit 800 million monthly active users and is on track to hit one billion by the year's end.

WhatsApp has already eaten into a significant portion of cellular carriers' SMS revenues, and it now looks poised to do the same for voice calls.

Source: WhatsApp via TechCrunch


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