Daily News Wrap: WhatsApp New Features and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Open Beta Update Released and More

Today, WhatsApp has rolled out new video calling features for users worldwide. Nothing has rolled out the Nothing OS 3.0 based on the Android 15 open beta update for the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. Airtel has announced a new prepaid plan with Disney+ Hotstar in the country. Let’s take a look at the five most important news stories of the day.

WhatsApp New Features for Video Calling

The Meta-owned giant announced the rollout of the new features for WhatsApp video calling through a blog post. It brings higher resolution and better quality in video calls. The update brings a new option to manually select the participants in the group chat and add them to the video call. It also comes with new filters in video calls, bringing funny animations and artefacts to your face in real-time.

WhatsApp video call filters

WhatsApp has introduced a new dedicated section for video calls for the desktop version of WhatsApp. Read more here.

Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Android 15 Open Beta Update

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus has received the Nothing OS 3.0-based Android 15 open beta update in the global markets, including India. It comes with many new features, including shared widgets, a new AI-powered smart drawer, a charging animation, a fingerprint animation, and more. The users can install the Android 15 open beta update after installing the Nothing Update application.

Nothing adds that the users must ensure they are running on Nothing OS 2.6 with the PacmanPro-U2.6-240924-2223 or PacmanPro-U2.6-241125-2243 build numbers. Check it out here.

Airtel Introduces New Prepaid Plan

Airtel India has announced the Rs 398 plan for prepaid customers in the country. The new prepaid plan offers 2GB/day of high-speed 4G data, unlimited calling, and 100 SMS/day. It has a validity of 28 days, which also offers unlimited 5G data throughout the period. Airtel has also bundled a Disney+ Hotstar subscription with a similar validity.

Airtel Disney Hotstar

The telecom giant adds that the plan will be available to all Airtel customers, which can be purchased from the Airtel Thanks app and website and other recharge apps. Read more here.

Microsoft Phone Link Now Supports File Sharing with iPhone

Microsoft has rolled out a new feature to the Phone Link app that allows file sharing between Windows PCs and iPhones. The feature is currently available for Windows Insider Program users and iPhones with iOS 16 or above. The Link to Windows app on iPhone should run on 1.24112.73 or higher to be eligible for the new feature.

The Phone Link can also be used to receive calls, check messages, see notifications, and more. Read more here.

Google Introduces Android XR Next-gen Extended Reality Devices

Google has announced the Android XR operating system, which is made in collaboration with Samsung to bring helpful experiences to headsets and glasses. Samsung will launch the first VR headset to run on Android XR, which will be codenamed Project Moohan. The VR headsets will sport a Circle to Search function, which can be used to find information with a simple gesture.

Google confirms that it will bring Maps, YouTube, Chrome, Photos, and other Play Store apps to the Android XR. Check it out here.