A new feature has begun rolling out to the WhatsApp iOS app that users have long wanted: Picture-in-Picture. Now users will be able to minimize a WhatsApp video call to the corner of their screen so they can continue chatting while using another app.
While the feature has long been available for FaceTime, WhatsApp users will know that if they switched apps on their iPhone, the person they were talking to would see the video pause, although they could still hear you. The new update utilizes iOS’s picture-in-picture feature to minimize the video call into a small window that floats over your home screen and other apps.
How to use picture-in-picture for WhatsApp video calls on iPhone
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To turn on the feature, head over to the Settings app on your iPhone, then tap General and Picture in Picture, and flip the Start PiP Automatically toggle to green. Then make a video call using WhatsApp as usual. Once the call begins, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and the video will automatically shrink into a small window showing the call participant that can be moved to any corner of the screen.
The process is similar to the way FaceTime video calls work, although there are a couple of differences. For one, WhatApp shrinks the whole window, including the smaller window showing your face, while FaceTime only shows a video of the person you are calling. Additionally, as you can see in the image above, the quality of the FaceTime call is much better. But still, it’s a welcome, if not overdue feature to the WhatsApp iOS app.
If you’re looking for WhatsApp on other Apple devices, see How to get WhatsApp on a Mac and How to get WhatsApp on iPad.