This new icon will still allow group participants to make group calls but it will now display a context menu which will allow them to select whether to make an audio or video call.

Earlier, an action sheet menu appeared with those two options, but with the new update, that menu has been changed into a context menu.

The new calling button is currently available to some beta testers that install the latest version of WhatsApp beta for iOS from the TestFlight app, and is expected to roll out to more users over the coming weeks, the report said.

Meanwhile, last week, it was reported that the messaging platform had started to roll out a 'companion mode' feature to iPhone users, which allows them to link an existing account to a second iOS device.