When we reported about the Facebook Messenger for iPhone getting an update on January 7, our post pinpointed towards a voice calling feature that has now been pushed out in the US exclusively for iOS owners. This option was speculated to be available within a few weeks since the upgrade and visibly, the company has stayed true to its word.
The power of having free verbal chats through Facebook Messenger for iPhone has only been given to those residing in the US and we believe other countries should soon follow suit. With the feature, people will be able to talk on the phone with other social network users who own iOS-powered devices, without the fear of being charged for it.
And by free, the company means that these calls can be made when connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data. Those who want to give their thumbs some rest should keep a watch out for the Free Call option in the ‘i’ button placed on the top-right corner of the conversation thread. On the other hand, recipients will get a push notification when someone tries to reach them.
BlackBerry had come up with something similar last month along with the BBM7 update. It christened the feature Voice Chat that allows vocal conversations at absolutely no charge. But the attribute differs from the one in question since it permits talking free of charge only over Wi-Fi and not through any service provider’s data plans.
Coming back to the topic in hand, the news of making calls for free through the Messenger app was accompanied by the ability to send quick voice messages and other bug fixes in the last update. Apart from the latest introduction, users can still have personal and group chats, get push notifications and include location details, using the social network’s standalone app.
Facebook Messenger for iPhone has bagged in the free voice call option and users will find it without going through the process of updating the app via the Apple App Store. It has been restricted solely to the US crowd so far and the company reveals no details pertaining to making the feature universally available or pushing it forth for Android. However, a post on The Verge states that it might just arrive shortly.