New WhatsApp Features Announcement: Group Voice Calls Just Got Better

WhatsApp is announcing three exciting updates to group voice calls, following several voice message improvements already launched this year.

Voice calls and messages make it quick and easy for people to have more expressive conversations. Now, WhatsApp is making group voice calls on the messaging app even better. New features include:

• Banner notification when someone joins a group voice call: When someone new joins a group voice call and is offscreen, you will see a banner notification saying, “X joined the call”. This way, you will know when a new person joins and who they are, even if you are on a big call and the person is not one of the names fixed on your screen.
• Muting others on a group voice call: This feature gives you the ability to mute others on a group voice call, so no more listening to accidental background chatter while you’re trying to hear something another person is saying.   
• Messaging participants during a group voice call: You will also have the ability to message other participants while in a group call. So, if you need to quickly message just one person in the group, you can now seamlessly do so without missing out on the conversation.

And did you know these other 5 hacks when chatting via WhatsApp?

• Hands free voice messaging: Gone are the days of having to re-record a voice message because your finger slipped off the microphone icon. Simply hold down the microphone icon and swipe up to lock your recording in place. When finished, tap to send.
• Review your voice messages: After recording a voice message, you can listen to it before sending to make sure it’s perfect. You can now also pause the recording and resume when you’re ready to continue, in case you’re interrupted or need to gather your thoughts.
• Flexible playback: Listening to voice messages is now much more convenient. Continue playing a voice message outside of the chat so you can multitask or read and respond to other messages. And, if you pause when listening to a voice message, you can pick up where you left off when you return to finish listening later.
• Faster playback: Short on time? Play voice messages at 1.5x or 2x speeds to listen to messages faster.
• 32 people group voice calls: For when you need to talk as a large group - with extended family or your work colleagues, for example - a call can be better than chatting by text. WhatsApp recently introduced the ability to have large group calls with up to 32 people. Planning that post-pandemic party? Or a big wedding? Get everyone into the conversation.