Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- WhatsApp is rolling out an in-app dialer to pick out beta testers, permitting customers to make calls instantly from the app with out saving contact numbers.
- The brand new dialer is accessible by way of a floating name motion button within the Calls tab.
- This in-app dialer is a part of WhatsApp’s steady efforts to boost its platform. The corporate can be testing different options.
WhatsApp is without doubt one of the hottest and extensively used messaging apps, significantly amongst Android customers. But, a long-standing concern with the platform has been the shortcoming to make calls from the app with out first saving contact numbers to the deal with e-book. In an effort to enhance consumer expertise and the app’s capabilities, WhatsApp is lastly introducing an in-app dialer to pick out beta testers.
Per a latest report from WABetaInfo, a number of customers are actually in a position to entry a floating name motion button throughout the Calls tab. This button lets customers dial an unsaved quantity by way of the app. Customers can even have the ability to save this unsaved quantity as a brand new contact or add it to an present contact card. Alternatively, customers may select to ship a message as a substitute of constructing a name after dialing the quantity — a messaging shortcut has been added to the in-app dialer display to facilitate this. That is at the moment a restricted rollout, so the function is just out there to pick out beta testers who replace to model 2.24.13.17.
How does this transformation issues for WhatsApp customers?
Compared to comparable apps like FaceTime, which permit customers to provoke calls by getting into a reputation, electronic mail deal with, or contact quantity, WhatsApp requires its customers to manually save numbers to their deal with e-book or open a chat with the contact to provoke a name.
Not solely was this course of time-consuming and cumbersome, nevertheless it additionally posed safety considerations. The rationale why it’s a safety concern is as a result of numbers saved within the deal with e-book can be aware about the consumer’s final seen standing, profile image, and different private particulars if their WhatsApp profile visibility settings allowed everybody of their contact record to see this info.
The excellent news is that with this replace, WhatsApp has added a further layer of comfort and privateness to customers’s calling expertise. What’s extra, this function additionally allows you to keep a clutter-free deal with e-book.
That is solely one of many many new options that WhatsApp is at the moment testing. Model 2.24.12.2, for example, rolled out a redesigned preview function for WhatsApp’s standing updates to some beta testers. This replace shows standing tales in a horizontal structure, permitting customers to view a standing with out having to open it.