WhatsApp Testing Voice and Video Call Features for Mac Desktop Client

whatsappiconcleanedWhatsApp will soon let Mac users make voice and video calls from the platform's desktop client, according to a new report from forthcoming feature specialist WABetaInfo.

WhatsApp has offered voice and video calling in its mobile app for some time, but the feature doesn't extend to the encrypted messaging platform's web and desktop clients.

However, that looks set to change, based on a beta of WhatsApp's desktop variant. As the screenshot below shows, users involved in the beta testing stage of the client can see new voice and video calling buttons in the chat header of the app window.

WA CALLS BUTTON BETA WEB
Clicking either button initiates a voice or video call to the selected contact, and then displays a separate pop-up window showing options to enable or disable video, mute the call, or hang up.

WA WEB CALL
Meanwhile, a call recipient using the desktop client sees a similar pop-up window indicating someone is calling them and offering them options to accept or decline the incoming call.

WA WEB DECLINE ACCEPT CALL
It's not clear how long voice and video calls will remain in beta testing on the desktop client, but WhatsApp is fairly quick at introducing new features, so if we could well see the functionality appear in an update in the next few weeks.

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Top Rated Comments

Pupi Avatar
56 months ago

but WhatsApp is fairly quick at introducing new features
I... uhhhh.... what??
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
beanbaguk Avatar
56 months ago
I’m still waiting for WhatsApp for iPad.....why am i forced to use dodgy knock-off HTML wrapper apps???? (I don’t, but you get the idea....)

Also, where is WhatsApp for Apple Watch?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mtrm Avatar
56 months ago

another tracking app ? and now for the Mac ? hmmm - amazing that people simply allow all this
Whilst I fully agree with you on the tracking, it’s not like you have many options when most of the people you know don’t use iPhones (hence iMessage or FaceTimeisn’t an option), and you can’t exactly convince them all to switch to another platform like Telegram or Signal.
In the US, where iPhone penetration is higher, it’s probably possible to go by without using WhatsApp, but in many European countries, many times you have a large share of connections that don’t use iPhones and WhatsApp is usually their go to messaging solution.
For instance, in my circle of friends and family only an handful use iPhones, even though there are many who use MacBooks and/or iPads (they just don’t like iPhones or refuse to spend €1k on a phone).

An alternative would be choosing your friends based on whether they have iPhones or not! ?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarpalMac Avatar
56 months ago

... but WhatsApp is fairly quick at introducing new features...
That small statement has just cost you a lot of reporting credibility in my eyes.

It simply could not be further from the truth. That is unless the definition of fairly has changed since I last looked it up (which admittedly has been a while...)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iGüey Avatar
56 months ago
By the way, when can we have the WhatsApp app for iPad? We have waited it for years.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
56 months ago

An alternative would be choosing your friends based on whether they have iPhones or not! ?
What's wrong with that? :P

I'm actually In a good mood today as I've finally managed to fully migrate away from WhatsApp! I couldn't get people to use Signal, but I did find the one person I had left using WhatsApp (and who apparently gets charged for international SMS) is also on Discord, so I can use that instead! Woo!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)