When Meta isn’t cramming WhatsApp full of unnecessary AI, it’s building out a rather helpful suite of features. The latest addition, spotted by WABetaInfo, falls into the latter camp. That would be real-time noise cancellation for calls, ideally providing vastly superior call quality by scrubbing traffic or similar sounds.
WhatsApp answers the call
WABetaInfo first discovered the feature was in the works back in March, though it now seems WhatsApp is rolling it out to a few of its beta testers. Specifically, in the beta 2.26.14.1 update for Android owners. The feature is seemingly enabled by default, meaning users won’t have to dig into the settings when it launches officially.
Noise cancellation is headed for both audio and video calls and will attempt to isolate the speaker to increase audio quality. Whether WhatsApp can get it right — reducing background noise without making the speaker sound like they’re trapped underwater — remains to be seen. To get the best results, it’s suggested that both users on a call have the feature enabled. If it isn’t everything you dreamed of, the setting can be toggled off at any time.
The feature’s arrival on the beta platform is a good sign that it could be gearing up for a wider rollout. It’s still rolling out gradually, even for beta testers, however. When it does eventually land on your device, the feature can be toggled on/off right from the call menu. That should be in the coming weeks, if WhatsApp sticks to its MO.
