WhatsApp video calls: yes, it’s finally official

Facetime and Skype still rule the roost when it comes to video calling, but if any company could take them on, it’s WhatsApp.

And the Facebook-owned service has done just that, allowing users to seamlessly call its contacts.

“Today we’re excited to announce the next step in our efforts to connect people — WhatsApp video calling. In the coming days, WhatsApp’s more than one billion users can make video calls across Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices,” the company wrote in a blog post.

WhatsApp could take the fight to Skype and Facetime with video calling

The company explained the move, saying that sometimes voice and text isn’t enough.

“There’s no substitute for watching your grandchild take her first steps, or seeing your daughter’s face while she’s studying abroad. And we want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks.”

The move comes over a year after the firm first introduced voice calling. In fact, the company announced earlier this year that over 100 million calls are made daily — equivalent to over 1100 calls a second.

Video calling also comes a few days after it emerged that the company was planning a new feature, dubbed WhatsApp Status. This feature will seemingly allow people to set images as a status.