WhatsApp has become a behemoth in the digital communication space; it has over two million active daily users. The Meta-owned company is always striving to maintain market dominance, and yesterday, the new WhatsApp screen sharing feature will go a long way on that front.
This feature was announced by none other than Meta’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, in a Facebook post. Given how hot the competition is getting, one might argue it is a much-needed feature.
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Take, for instance, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Meet, and Apple’s FaceTime. These video calling apps have, in the recent past, been releasing new exciting features to dominate the market. However, for the most part, they remain relevant within the desktop space, not on mobile.
WhatsApp Screen Sharing Blocking Inroads on Mobile
WhatsApp, on the other hand, is primarily a mobile communication app. Had it remained lax, its competition could have very well made inroads within the mobile space. Yes, alternative apps like Google Meet and Zoom are desktop-first applications, but they have equally robust user experience on mobile.
However, WhatsApp is considered more appropriate for informal communication between family and friends. While on the other hand, its competition – the likes of Meet and Zoom are taken to be appropriate for formal communication.
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FaceTime is also quite popular on mobile. However, it is restricted to iOS and macOS devices, which are uncommon outside North America and Western European markets. Outside these regions, the market is dominated by Android devices on the mobile front and Windows on the desktop front. For that reason, WhatsApp remains popular over FaceTime.
How WhatsApp Screen Sharing Works
This feature was first released in beta back in May 2023. Users can share their screen while on video calls by tapping the ‘Share’ icon. They can then select to share a specific app or the entire mobile screen. The feature is rolling out in waves, which means some users might have to wait a little before it is available to their regions.
Alongside the screen sharing feature, WhatsApp has also released new support for landscape video calls. Video calls in landscape mode provide a more immersive and broader viewing experience than in portrait mode. It is also a much-needed feature when screen sharing since you will need a wider screen real estate to showcase your screen while viewing people on the video call.