WhatsApp launches new video streaming feature. Here's how it works

WhatsApp's new feature will let you watch shared videos without having to wait for them to fully download first.

WhatsApp is on a roll when it comes to introducing interesting features. Just a week after launching its much-awaited video calling feature, WhatsApp has introduced another video related feature. This new feature basically lets you watch a shared video while it is being downloaded to your phone. At the time of filing this story, the feature is only available on WhatsApp beta version 2.16.365.

Earlier when someone would share a video, you would either get a download button or it would automatically download to your phone based on your settings. But in both the scenarios, one could only watch the video once the download is completed. Now however, instead of a download button, you see a play button.

When you tap the button, the video will start buffering, and you will be able to watch the video while it is being downloaded on your phone. The buffering feature is similar to what you see when watching videos online. This new WhatsApp feature was first spotted on the beta app by The YourStory

While it may not necessarily be a feature that you could not live without, it surely saves you some time that you would otherwise spend waiting for the video to download.

To use this feature, you will have to download the latest WhatsApp beta app that you can get on the Play Store. You will however have to first enroll in the company's beta program. It is likely that WhatsApp would release this feature on the final version soon.

Videos are clearly the way forward for Facebook and the companies it owns, like Instagram and WhatsApp. After a lot of requests, WhatsApp finally introduced video calling feature on its Android, iOS and Windows Phone apps.

We spent some time using the new video calling feature and despite suffering from some performance issues, it is still a welcome feature. The company boasts that the feature is optimized to work even when the network quality is not the best.