A Preview of the Calling Feature on Latest Beta of WhatsApp for iOS [PICS]

Italian blog iPhoneItalia has posted a series of screenshots and a video showing off the new calling feature in the latest beta version of WhatsApp for iOS.

WhatsApp, which is currently owned by Facebook, has been slowly rolling out this feature over the past few months to select users as a part of a beta testing program. The company said that the feature will be released to the public in the near future, however there is no official release date yet.

The screenshots of the beta show a clean and simple user interface that looks very similar to the Phone app on iOS. The call screen has the option to answer a call or hang up, along with the ability to mute, put the call on speaker, and send an SMS message to the person who is calling.

The blog says that the call quality is decent, but given the fact that WhatsApp is a VoIP the call quality will depend on the quality of your internet connection. Comparing the app to FaceTime, the blog says that Apple’s built-in solution does a much better job. Here is a video that showcases the calling feature in the latest beta of the app:

In January, the Facebook-owned messaging service reached a total of 700 million monthly active users. This makes WhatsApp the largest instant messaging service in the world.

WhatsApp for iOS is available as a free download from the App Store. The service is free to use for the first year, then a $1 per year subscription is required to continue using the app. Do you use WhatsApp on a regular basis? Let us know in the comments below.