WhatsApp is themessaging app of choicefor billions of users around the world, whether talking to individuals or participating in group chats. The app supports voice and video calling as well, but lags behind dedicated calling apps like Google Meet and Zoom in the features department. Recent updates have played akey role in catching up, and the newest one narrows the gap further. WhatsApp is testing a call scheduling feature currently in development.
Rudimentary voice and video calling support has existed on WhatsApp for years now, but features like support for larger groups, automatic call scheduling, and in-call chatting have pushed droves of users towards dedicated video conferencing apps. WhatsApp missed the opportunity to become even more popular when it failed to add full-fledged meeting features during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is many years late now, we spotted support forcall scheduling in developmentin February.
The feature has been off the radar since, resurfacing now with WhatsApp v2.23.17.7 distributed through the Google Play Beta program. The latest updatespotted by WABetaInfogives us a look at the workflow for scheduling a call. You can schedule calls in a group chat, and WhatsApp has options to define the date and time for the call. Settings also allow defining a call topic displayed with the reminder for participants, and the type of call — voice or video.
Once configured, the invite can be sent as a message in the group. Participants are reminded 15 minutes before the call, and they can join using theJoin callbutton in the message. We suppose theCancelbutton is for disinterested group members who don’t want reminders to attend the call. Together with thegroup polls feature, we believe call scheduling would make it much easier for groups to fixate on a time to convene, without a flurry of back-and-forth messaging cluttering the chat.
The feature is unavailable for individual conversations, because understandably, it is more convenient to phone the person at an agreed time. WABetaInfo says the beta feature will reach more testers soon, although there is no word on when call scheduling will go live for everyone. We just worry WhatsApp is doing too little, and too late.
