WhatsApp Adds Screen Sharing with Audio and 32 Person Video Calling

Meta announced today a couple of updates to improve the video and audio calling experience on WhatsApp. First of all, the app is adding support for up to 32 people in group video calls, which will match what Apple offers on FaceTime. Moreover, a new Speaker Spotlight feature will automatically highlight the active speaker on the screen.

The WhatsApp team also detailed its ongoing efforts to improve audio and video quality in the app. MLow, short for ‘Meta Low Bitrate audio codec’, is now rolling out on WhatsApp after previously launching on Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

“Calls made on mobile devices benefit from improved noise and echo cancellation, making it easier to have calls in noisy environments, and video calls have higher resolution for those with faster connections. Audio is crisper overall, even if you have poor network connectivity or are using an older device,” the WhatsApp team said about this new MLow codec.

Lastly, WhatsApp is adding support for screen sharing with audio. This is a pretty common feature on other messaging apps, but it can be useful when you want to watch a video with someone else. All these updates will be rolling out to WhatsApp users across all platforms over the coming weeks.