WhatsApp is making conference calls more simplified by allowing users to select a maximum of 4 people to call at once rather than connecting them in a call individually. If you are assuming that this is some pretty basic functionality that should have been done long ago, you are absolutely right. The same feature has existed on Messenger where users can call up to 50 people in a group at a single time.
In the new design update, you can go to the group of the members you want to call and then tap on the phone icon at the top right corner of the screen to select the contacts whom you want to talk with. You can voice or video call up to 4 people with the new update. In comparison, Apple Facetime allows video call up to 32 persons at a single time. WhatsApp is seriously lagging behind the competition as far Voice over IP (VoIP) is concerned.
The biggest advantage over competitors that WhatsApp has, for now, is the end-to-end encryption. Calls are encrypted which will make WhatsApp a special mode of communication for privacy seekers if you believe in Facebook’s definition of privacy that is. The group call will depend on the quality of the internet connection of all users and if a person has a poor internet connection, the group call will be disturbed as a whole. It seems like WhatsApp is trying to implement something similar to peer-to-peer networking here.
This update is now available for iOS users whereas it will be rolling out shortly for Android devices.
