WhatsApp has a new call-scheduling feature that will let you plan ahead for both personal and professional group calls. Along with the ability to schedule calls, WhatsApp is also adding more interactive features that are reminiscent of Google Meet calls, like raising your hand to speak.
The app makes it pretty easy to get a quick group call going with friends or family, but it lacked a way to plan these calls ahead of time easily. This is especially important for businesses that use the app. Now, you can press the + button in your Calls tab to schedule a call. You can even add the call to your personal calendar or share it with others.
Once a call is scheduled, all participants will receive a notification when the call is about to begin, which is a great way to make sure nobody forgets. You can also see all your upcoming calls and a list of attendees in the Calls tab. This is the kind of thing that’s been on other group apps like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, so it’s good to see it on WhatsApp.
Beyond the new scheduling feature, WhatsApp is also adding a few other interactive features to make group calls more interactive. Now you can raise your hand to indicate you’d like to speak without interrupting the person talking, and you can also send reactions during a call. This is another feature that we’ve seen on other apps, especially Google Meet.
It looks like both these features will be in the same place as the “screen share” option. All you have to do is pull up on the bar at the bottom of your phone screen, and the two options will be there. It is likely just as easily accessible in the desktop version of the app.
Normally, handraising tends to be focused on business-related meetings instead of chats with friends. I’ve been a part of companies that used WhatsApp almost exclusively for work, so this makes sense. Google Meet’s hand raise option is something I’ve used a lot, and it feels a lot more polite than trying to interrupt the speaker. In Google Meets, hand raises go into a queue that those who run the meeting can see. WhatsApp will likely have a similar queue.
Call links are also getting an upgrade; if you’re the one who created a call link, you’ll now get notifications when someone joins. In other apps, normally, everyone gets a sound effect when someone joins, so this may go further than that, like with a separate message.
As always, WhatsApp is making sure that all calls, whether they’re scheduled or not, are protected by end-to-end encryption. It’s a global rollout, so it may take time to actually get to your phone. verify to update your app if one pops up, but if automatic updates are enabled, this shouldn’t be an issue.
