TheNewsGuru

Tag: iOS

  • WhatsApp stops working on older Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7 models

    WhatsApp stops working on older Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7 models

    Popular instant messaging app WhatsApp has stopped working in older smartphones. Anyone using a smartphone running Android 2.2 Froyo or older versions of Android, apart from an iPhone 3GS or iOS 6 and lower versions of iOS, will find that WhatsApp has stopped working on their smartphones.ImageFile: WhatsApp stops working on older Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7 models

    Notably, the market share of these devices is quite low – 0.1 percent for devices running Android 2.2 Froyo, 2.6 percent for devices running iOS 6, and the iPhone 3GS is itself a 7-year-old phone.

    Windows Phone 7 users will also be affected in the same manner.

    The Facebook-owned company has advised that anyone with the above-mentioned older handsets who want to keep chatting with friends via WhatsApp will need to buy a newer phone or upgrade to a newer operating system.

    WhatsApp had initially said that all BlackBerry (those not running Android) models and some Nokia handsets would also find themselves unable to get onto the chat app. But in November last year, it gave these users a reprieve until June 30, 2017.

    “We are extending support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 until June 30, 2017,” the company wrote in an update to its blog.

    The changes are arguably largely to allow WhatsApp to more deeply integrate encryption and other privacy services. Such technology stops messages from being read, and has led to WhatsApp facing criticism from governments who believe that WhatsApp conversations should be made public.

    It’s also likely to allow for more rapid introduction of new features. Rumoured updates scheduled in 2017 include a new feature that would allow people to edit or entirely delete messages after they have been sent.

  • Facebook Messenger adds group video chat

    Facebook Messenger is pushing out whole new features in rapid succession as 2016 comes to a close.

    A week after releasing a new, Snapchat-style camera, the wildly popular messaging app is introducing group video chat, its most requested feature.

    Group video chat on Messenger will be available globally, both on iOS and Android, and will start rolling out Monday.

    Messenger’s impressive run of new feature releases is evidence Facebook is unwilling to simply let it ride the coattails of the 1.79 billion user core app it’s inherently tied to. Instead, as Messenger ships fun new features, Facebook is proving the wisdom of spinning out the app in 2014, a move initially met with user backlash.

    Group video chat on Messenger will support up to six videos at a time, but up to 50 people can watch and, if they so choose, join via voice, stickers and the like.

    A video icon will now appear at the top right of group conversations, and tapping on it will alert group members and give them the choice to join.

  • Twitter launches ‘Live Video’ with Periscope integration in-app

    Twitter has launched the ability to create live videos via its Android and iOS apps with the help of Periscope. Just like Facebook, Twitter will also allow users to live stream video through the platform via a single tweet.

    The latest updates of Android and iOS bring this feature to Twitter, and it is already accessible in some countries.

    For this to work, the user must have Periscope installed on their smartphone. By clicking on the Tweet button, the user will now see three new options for adding media content via the camera. By pressing the Camera button, you now get the option to add photo, video, and start a live video.

    At this point, if you haven’t downloaded Periscope, Twitter will prompt you to do so. After signing up on Periscope, head back to Twitter to use the ‘Live Video’ feature.

    Once you click on Live Video, you are directed to Periscope to start the live video, but it is also live streamed simultaneously on Twitter as well. The tweet reads by default ‘live on #Periscope’, and all the users on your timeline can watch it.

    You can stop the broadcast and even save the video on to your phone if you prefer.

    “We started Periscope because we wanted to give people the superpower to share live video with an audience. Bringing this capability directly into the Twitter app is an important step because it brings that superpower to the hundreds of millions of people who use Twitter. “Twitter, already the place where people go to see what’s happening, with this update, anyone can now broadcast what’s happening live,” said Kayvon Beykpour, CEO of Periscope in a statement.

    Facebook was the first social giant to introduce the live video feature on its app, and Twitter has followed suit. It remains to be seen whether users will adopt this feature as wholeheartedly as they did on Facebook.