Picture-in-picture feature for video calls in WhatsApp
March 5, 2023
You will now be able to keep that video call you like so much with your friends on WhatsApp, while also doing other things.
Earlier this month, WhatsApp introduced several status-related features, including voice updates, emoji reactions to statuses, previewing rich links in statuses, restricting who can see an update, and showing rings around the profile picture if a new status has been uploaded.
And now, a new feature has arrived in WhatsApp for iOS devices known as picture-in-picture. Which users have wanted for a long time, but do you really know what this term means? Well, this feature allows users to minimize a WhatsApp video call in the corner of their screen, so they can continue talking and watching the video of the person they are talking to, while using other apps.
Available since 2020
While the PiP mode was already available on Android since 2018, and had been incorporated into iOS 14, in 2020, third-party apps must make the configuration separately, and only until this year WhatsApp which has been working on the same was able to implement it for its video calls.
The announcement
WhatsApp first announced this feature last December and said it was testing picture-in-picture for iOS for video calls with selected people.
The instant messaging app has launched this feature with the latest version 23.3.77 of its iOS app. This allows users to reply to a message or look up some information on the phone without interrupting the call.
Along with this feature, WhatsApp is also thinking about the possibility of adding a caption while sending documents on both iOS and Android. The company is also testing a feature that allows iOS users to send 100 images or documents at once. Such a feature is already available for Android users with the latest update.
It is worth remembering that WhatsApp supports long descriptions for groups, without a character limit between letters, spaces, emojis and others; it also accepts custom avatars and uses them as a profile picture.
How to use picture-in-picture for WhatsApp video calls on iPhone?
- To enable the feature, you must first log in to the WhatsApp app and then open Settings on your iPhone.
- Then tap “General” and “Picture in Picture” and change the “Start PiP automatically” option to green.
- Then make a test video call from WhatsApp as you normally would. Once you start the call, swipe the video up from the bottom of the screen, and it will automatically shrink to a small window showing the video call participant, which can be moved to any corner of your smartphone screen.
The process is like the way FaceTime video calls work, although there are a couple of differences. On the one hand, as a curious fact, WhatsApp reduces the entire window, including the smaller window that shows your face, while FaceTime only shows a video of the person you are calling. It is a welcome feature, a bit overdue, but extremely useful for users of the WhatsApp app on iOS.
To enjoy these updates, you must have an iPhone 12 Pro or later. There may be a slight chance that, even if you have updated WhatsApp, some of these features are still not available, and this is a staggered update.
