At the end of last week, WhatsApp started rolling out an improved Picture-in-Picture video call mode to iOS users. While PiP isn’t a new feature for the company’s users, people couldn’t leave the WhatsApp app once on a video call, or the video would stop.
With version 23.3.77, the app is changing that with an improved Picture-in-Picture mode, so even if you open another application, you can still see the other person on a video call and vice-versa. Here’s how the company describes this improvement:
With support for iOS Picture in Picture (PiP), you can now multitask during a WhatsApp call without your video being paused.
This update also brings support for longer group subjects and descriptions, and it continues to roll out a personalized avatar feature to use them as stickers and profile photos.
Last week, BGR reported that WhatsApp is now working again on the voice message transcription feature. According to WaBetaInfo, Meta has resumed the development of this audio transcription feature. The same blog reported the feature was in development in September 2021. But then Meta stopped working on it.
However, it appears that Meta has resumed work on transcription support for WhatsApp audio messages. The blog found a new introduction screen in the latest WhatsApp beta app for iPhone. As for the privacy of WhatsApp voice messages, WaBetaInfo explains that transcription always happens locally on the device. The app downloads the relevant language packs to perform the transcription. The resulting text isn’t available outside of WhatsApp, which is what we would expect regarding privacy.
It’s important to note that while WhatsApp always brings new features, they take a few weeks – or even months – to roll out to all users globally. If you don’t see the new PiP mode in your app, keep waiting for the next updates.
