Viber overhauls app with intuitive, fun features

NEW DELHI: In a bid to provide its 600 million users with easier video calling, animated stickers and visual previews of shared content, Viber has released its latest update (v5.5) for Android and iOS users with a number of improvements designed to make sharing within the app more intuitive and fun.

Ofir Eyal, Head of Product at Viber commented that the update made to its app will make it easier for people to share richer content within their messages. Eyal believes that with improvements in voice call quality and video calls interface, Viber is growing and maintaining a strong global user base by increasing engagement within the app.

With these new additions, users can now share contacts from their phonebook as a Viber message. Recipients will receive the contact info, including name and photo, with an option to easily save them to their contacts. In addition, when a user drops a URL into their chat, Viber will now automatically create a message bubble with an image from the site they are sharing. By providing a visual preview, this new enhancement makes the content instantly more engaging and encourages further sharing.

In the latest update, Viber has redesigned its video calling interface to provide more intuitive triggers for starting video calls from various places within the app. Users can now initiate a video call directly from their contact’s profile, or from their recent calls list.

Knowing that data usage is an important consideration for users, Viber assures that it continues to improve voice and video call quality whilst preserving low data consumption . Viber data usage automatically adapts to the network quality of the user. A minute of audio call requires a maximum of 416KB/minute on 4G or WiFi, between 151 and 244KB/minute on 3G and only 84KB/minute on a 2G network.

With more than 500 sticker packs now available to choose from, Viber has added animated stickers to its Sticker Market for iOS and Android users. Featuring some of Viber’s most popular characters including Violet, Freddie, Eve, Legcat and Rudy, these animated stickers add a burst of personality to any message. Animated stickers featuring lots of well-known characters and licenses are also in the works. Available now worldwide, Disney’s ‘Inside Out’ pack leads the charge with a character to literally express every emotion from Joy to Anger; Fear to Disgust!

In addition to the v5.5 update for Android and iPhone, Viber has updated its feature set for all secondary devices. The newly released iPad version allows users to sync Viber on their iPhone, iPad and Mac simultaneously and continue their conversation on whichever platform suits them best at any given time. Viber’s Android tablet interface now has a more intuitive call screen, and desktop versions have been updated to include Viber Public Chats, along with multiple new features and enhancements.