WhatsApp Rolls Out Calling Updates for Desktop and Mobile - MacRumors
Skip to Content

WhatsApp Rolls Out Calling Updates for Desktop and Mobile

WhatsApp has announced some improvements to its calling features across desktop and mobile platforms ahead of the holiday season, such as the ability to choose participants from group chats, use new effects on calls, and take advantage of higher resolution video.

whatsapp calling updates
The ability to select specific participants when initiating a call from a group chat aims to let users avoid disturbing the entire group, and could be helpful for coordinating surprise events or private discussions within larger group contexts.

The update also brings ten new video effects to make calls more fun and engaging, ranging from playful puppy ear filters to underwater themes and karaoke microphone effects.

In addition, WhatsApp says desktop users will benefit from a reorganized calls interface that should streamline the process of starting calls, creating call links, or dialing numbers directly from the desktop app. Lastly, the Meta-owned company has also enhanced video call quality across both one-on-one and group calls, regardless of whether users are connecting from desktop or mobile devices.

Popular Stories

Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Testing Paid 'Plus' Subscription Tier – Here's What's Included

Tuesday April 21, 2026 6:22 am PDT by
WhatsApp has started testing a paid subscription tier called WhatsApp Plus, which adds a set of personalization options on top of the standard messaging experience, according to WABetaInfo. The paid plan Meta is testing appears to be geared towards hardcore users who spend a lot of time in the app: subscribers get access to premium sticker packs with fullscreen overlay animations (visible to ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
18 months ago
Where is the iPad support that was already in a WhatsApp Beta 2! summer ago!!!!
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xade Avatar
18 months ago
l just want an ipad app. Don't care about all the bells and whistles. Oh, and getting the watch app back would be good too!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BigTimEnergy Avatar
18 months ago
Remember USA, the rest of the world actually uses WhatsApp.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 months ago
Don’t care. Just release an iPad app already!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
techpr Avatar
18 months ago

and Americans are not using WhatsApp because no one they know uses it.

It's the network effect keeping Americans on iMessage/SMS, and Europeans/some Asians on WhatsApp
I fixed it for you.

Americans on iMessage/SMS, and the rest of the world on WhatsApp
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 months ago

Yup, and we still can't figure out how the "rest of the world" got scammed into it! It is free because Zuck hoovers up your data and sells it! Let that sink in.

This is precisely why there isn't an iPad app, if its not tied to a phone you don't get as much data hoovering goodness.
Honestly, it's a fair price for a good service, and not an uncommon price in today's digital world. Whatsapp offers a lot of advantages over SMS, which pretty much makes it a necessity unless:

a. everyone you know has an iPhone/imesssage
b. everyone you know is local
c. you don't travel
d. you have a really good roaming/international service plan

Most people in the world don't meet those criteria. And most of the Americans saying that they won't use Whatsapp due to privacy concerns are using Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, various Google services, and TikTok!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)