Video calling is one of the cool features about the new age chatting platforms and it is way more personal than text messages or video calling. Skype, Viber, Imo and Facebook Messenger have video calling support yet a popular chatting platform like WhatsApp does not have the feature.
However, we started seeing reports of WhatsApp testing video calling support last year and we hoped that they will release this year. The previous move was spotted by a German website on an iOS version of the app (ver. 2.12.16.2). It has been 5 months into the new year and still the company has not released the feature to all users. However according to FoneArena, the feature has been spotted yet again but for a beta version of WhatsApp for Android.
The beta version tested was v. 2.16.80. When you want to make a call to someone, it apparently gives you two options: The classic audio call and the newer video call options. The author was unable to place the video call which means it is a server side update although it was revealed that in other countries, some users were able to make video calls.
This feature will be big since WhatsApp has a huge user base of over 1 billion. Most of these users are based in 3rd world countries and since they are replacing their feature phones for smartphones with front cameras, it will allow them to connect with friends and family with ease. We only have to wait and see when WhatsApp will formally switch on the update and watch the reaction from the fan base and the terrestrial telcos who will have to handle the increased traffic on their network.