WhatsApp is now working on a fun feature for Android and iOS and making video calls with the chat app: the possibility to use an avatar of you instead of your video, reports WABetaInfo. The feature is under development at the moment and there is currently no official release date for it, but it will come in a future update to make WhatsApp’s rich feature set even more entertaining.
WhatsApp for Android and iOS will get avatars in video calls with a future update
WhatsApp seems to be working on a Memoji/Bitmoji alternative, and has been developing this feature since March. And now we get to see the video call screen option which you will be able to use to switch to using an avatar.
However, as this feature is still under development, it is not yet available in beta and it does not have a concrete official release date set. It may take some months for WhatsApp to develop and test it before we can conveniently use avatars for those way-too-early-in-the-morning video calls.
On top of that, WhatsApp will also let you send those avatars as stickers in groups and chats. You will be able to create your own avatar by using an “Avatar Editor”.
For now, this feature is reported to be in the works for Android, but WhatsApp does plan to include iOS users in the mix as well at some point.
WhatsApp beta features: other interesting things the chat app might get soon
WhatsApp has been experimenting with further enriching its feature set, and there are quite a lot of interesting and exciting features to look forward to.
Keep in mind that all those features are currently under development or spotted in betas, so it’s hard to predict when we will be able to spot them released to the public. Despite that, that’s never been a reason to not look forward to updates, and WhatsApp gives us plenty of reasons to get excited.
One cool feature that WhatsApp is currently cooking for iOS and Android is the ability to silently leave groups (this one is under development right now, reports WABetaInfo). The new feature will allow you to leave a group while only the admins of the group get notified about it, and not all the other members.
Talking about ease of use, WhatsApp has also been reported to work on a feature that allows you to filter your chat messages by unread. For people who have a lot of ongoing chats and a lot of friends (kudos to you if you do) this will prove quite helpful and will ensure you don’t miss an unread message in the jungle of chats.
But that’s not the only feature that WhatsApp has in the works to make sure you don’t miss anything important from your friends. Another beta feature is related to status updates. Once this feature becomes official, you will be able to notice if anyone has updated their status directly from the chats page. This makes the process of being up-to-date with your friends an easier and more convenient one.
Another useful and fun feature is the ability to send animated heart emojis. The feature has already been rolled out to beta testers of WhatsApp on Android, and it might show its animated-emoji face to iOS users as well. Interestingly enough, the feature was available for beta testers on iOS for some months before getting pulled. It is highly likely it will soon show up again (so far, only for beta testers).
As you can see, WhatsApp been going strong with the updates and new features. The app remains widely popular despite the likes of Telegram and Signal stealing its thunder last year, and its developers seem keen to not lag behind the competition.
