Events on WhatsApp enable members to engage with each other and organise activities such as online meetings.
WhatsApp for iOS is introducing a new feature that lets users create events in group chats. The feature was first spotted in a beta version of the app for the Android platform by a feature tracker. However, it is now being rolled out to the stable version of the instant messaging app for iPhone. Its arrival builds upon several previously reported features in development, including a new shortcut for quick replies to video notes and a new in-app dialler for the Calls tab.
Events in Group chats
The arrival of the Event option in group chats was spotted by feature tracker WABetaInfo on WhatsApp for iOS app version 24.13.72. Prior to the update, users could create events in WhatsApp but only in Communities, enabling members to engage and hold activities such as online meetings.
Now, the same functionality is arriving for group chats too. Tapping the “+” icon opens up the activity menu which now lists Event. Users can then choose the event name, add a description, set the start time and enter the location if required. Furthermore, they can also toggle the WhatsApp call link option to start a WhatsApp call upon commencement of the event.
The feature is available to all WhatsApp for iOS users. Gadgets 360 staff members were able to access this feature after updating the WhatsApp app to the latest version. New features are usually rolled out in a gradual manner, meaning that it might take a couple of days for them to arrive on all devices.
Multiple AI chatbots
WhatsApp recently rolled out Meta AI – the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot – to other regions including India. It is now reported that the instant messaging platform might let choose users between two AI models: Llama 3-70B and Llama 3-405B. While the former is a smaller model aimed at providing quick responses, the latter is Meta's largest model in its family of LLMs, with 400 billion parameters.
However, the Llama 3-405B AI model has not yet been released to the public. The feature was spotted in WhatsApp for Android beta version 2.24.14.7 via a new Meta Llama model menu in the app's settings.