It looks like WhatsApps is almost ready to roll out its voice calling feature for its popular IM service as Android users around the globe were reportedly seeing the capability active on their devices. What’s more, they could spread the new feature around as simply buzzing a contact enables voice calling on the receiver’s handset or tablet.
Android Police was first to report about WhatsApp Voice calling rolling out for Android users around the globe. It notes that the feature works on version 2.11.528 which is available through the Play store and version 2.11.531 that can be downloaded from the company’s website. On the downside, the ability to invite others to try out the new capability has been halted and it looks like the service was made live by accident or for testing purposes.
We’ve seen the new voice calling service leak out one too many times already and so, almost everything there is to know has been revealed. As you can see in the image above, the WhatsApp UI has been modified to show three different tabs, one being dedicated to calls. You can initiate a new voice session by hitting the phone button from the menu bar or even from within a chat.
Also read: Pushbullet now lets you reply to WhatsApp messages more from your PC
While it’s great to see WhatsApp grow its IM app into a true communication service, the company still has a lot to improve in its current offerings. The web client which can be accessed through a browser from a desktop PC was reported to have a security flaw and a couple of weeks back a researcher created a tool which allows anyone to bypass the service’s privacy filter to stalk people by viewing their status, profile pictures and more.
There’s a good chance that we could see voice calling officially reach WhatsApp for Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone in the coming days.