Facebook to Bring Voice and Video Calling to Main App 2v4b2v Testing With Few s First

Facebook s won’t need to open Messenger anymore to make voice and video calls. 3o54n

By Reuters | Updated: 24 August 2021 10:04 IST

Facebook to Bring Voice and Video Calling to Main App, Testing With Few s First

Facebook sees its latest launch as an early step toward building the futuristic "metaverse" 416g1t

Highlights

Facebook has been trying to tie together messaging across its suite
It plans to eventually integrate WhatsApp into the mix
Facebook bets will be the next big computing platform

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Facebook is letting some s make voice and video calls within its main app on a trial basis, aiming to make it easier to place calls without opening its standalone Messenger app.

The social media giant spun out Messenger from its main app years ago, meaning s would have to a separate app in order to send messages and make calls.

between Instagram and Messenger last September. The move enabled s of each service to find, message, and hold video calls with s on the other without needing to both apps.

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It plans to eventually integrate WhatsApp into the mix.

However, a Facebook spokesperson said on Monday that for a full-featured messaging, audio and video call experience, people should continue using Messenger.

Last week, Facebook Oculus Quest 2 headsets can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves.

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The beta test of Facebook's Horizon Workrooms app comes as many companies continue to work from home after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down physical workspaces and as a new variant is sweeping across the globe.

Facebook sees its latest launch as an early step toward building the futuristic "metaverse" that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has touted in recent weeks.

The world's largest social network has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality, developing hardware such as its Oculus VR headsets, working on AR glasses and wristband technologies and buying a bevy of VR gaming studios, including BigBox VR.

Gaining dominance in this space, which Facebook bets will be the next big computing platform, will allow it to be less reliant in the future on other hardware makers, such as Apple, the company has said.

Facebook's vice president of its Reality Labs group, Andrew ‘Boz' Bosworth, said the new Workrooms app gives "a good sense" of how the company envisions elements of the metaverse.

"This is kind of one of those foundational steps in that direction," Bosworth told reporters during a VR news conference.

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