PC users will be able to make calls via WhatsApp

Oct 20, 2020 21:01 GMT  ·  By

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is working on improving the way users interact with the messaging apps, not only on mobile devices but also on PCs.

So the company is now working on bringing video call support to WhatsApp Web, essentially allowing PC users to chat with contacts right from their computers via WhatsApp.

WABetaInfo has come across code pointing to this feature in version 2.2043.7, but at this point, it looks like the new functionality isn’t yet available for broad rollout.

With an important part of the world focused to start working from home due to the global health issue, it makes sense for WhatsApp to explore the video call side of its platform. In the last few months, the adoption of apps offering such capabilities has skyrocketed, and Microsoft Teams is the living proof in this regard.

New feature still in the testing stage

Teams reached 75 million users in just a couple of weeks, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explaining that the company recorded the growth that it typically sees in 2 years in less than a month.

And because the need for video calls is unlikely to decline in the coming months for the very same reasons, WhatsApp is now trying to make the whole thing more straightforward. And one way to do this is to add support for video calls in WhatsApp Web.

In other words, you’ll be able to connect with a contact and chat on video using your laptop, as long as the mobile phone is connected to the Internet. Needless to say, similar functionality would also be added to the desktop client of WhatsApp, which is a desktop-based version of the web app anyway.

At this point, it’s not yet known when the new feature is supposed to go live, but the chances are that it won’t take long before it happens.