With all the texting that people do these days, it’s naturally taken a messaging app to re-introduce the act of using our voices to communicate.
WhatsApp, the increasingly ubiquitous global messaging app, has launched “voice messaging,” a new feature that will let users record and send audio files with one tap on their smartphones. UPDATE: WhatsApp has announced the feature on its blog; the post includes a video demo, also embedded below.
The messaging company, which has 45 employees and is based in Mountain View, Calif., confirmed a report in AllThingsD that the service would allow users to press and hold the microphone on their keyboard to send a voice message, a bit like using a walkie-talkie.
Said to be a brainchild of the US-based company's co-founder and CEO Jan Koum, the new feature allows users to just hold to record a message and release to send it.
There is also a blue blinker notification that lets users know when the message is received. In case the user decides not to send the message, a swipe to the left and the recording is deleted. All this is built into a single tap. There is also no time-length limit for the recorded messages. Also, the volume automatically switches from speaker when held at arm's length to soft when held next to an ear.