Although it looks like WhatsApp has been the same for a decade, the app keeps introducing small changes here and there, until it’s hard to keep up with the news that has come in. To make it easier for you, here is the monthly summary with all the news that arrived on WhatsApp in Februaryin addition to those that are not yet, but of which we have learned more details.
WhatsApp news arrives staggered. First we know about them on sites like WaBetaInfo while they are not yet active for anyone, then they reach beta and finally, for everyone, in the stable version of WhatsApp. If you have lost count of whats new in whatsapp and what more, here you have all the information.
What’s new in the WhatsApp beta
If you want to be up to date on WhatsApp, you need to download the beta version. News comes here before, although in return the application may be somewhat unstable or have functions that disappear or change the next day. here are the news that we could already know and test in the beta of WhatsApp during February.
New call design
The beta version of WhatsApp for Android incorporated several changes in calls and video calls, which go beyond cosmetic changes. During calls between two people, the the interface has been simplified with less green and a card layout for contact information.
However, the biggest change is in group callswhere a completely new design is introduced, with colored borders and highlighting who is speaking, as well as showing the voice waves of each participant.
Search Shortcut in Profiles
The old (left) and new (right) skins, with the search shortcut
A small change has come to WhatsApp Beta for Android: an additional shortcut to search for a chat, from a chat’s info window. It’s a mean something more intuitive to look for in a chatwithout having to dive into the context menu.
This shortcut is displayed next to those of Call and videowhich have been around for a long time, and this is the umpteenth tweak WhatsApp is making to this contact info screen, after many years of it remaining pretty much the same.
Different icons for voice and audio notes
The new audio and voice message icons (left) and the previous one (right)
WhatsApp allows you to send audio files and voice notes, which are somewhat interchangeable. For example, when you forward a voice memo, it will be presented to the other person as an audio file.
This has changed in the WhatsApp beta, which shows separate icons for voice memos and audio files, something particularly relevant during an expedition. Incidentally, the icon has changed to a darker orange hue.
Preview when sending photos as documents
A fairly recurring WhatsApp trick for sending uncompressed photos is send them as documents. They are sent as is to the mobile, although in return the other person could not really know what they were until they were opened.
The WhatsApp beta now shows a small preview of photos sent as documents that while it’s somewhat blurry to make out the details, it will at least help us get an idea of what it’s all about.
Dark Mode in WhatsApp for Windows 10/11
WhatsApp supports dark mode in all its versions, but the new version of WhatsApp for Windows 10/11, which is still a bit green, did not support it yet. This is no longer a problem, because finally the WhatsApp application for Windows dark mode added.
It works exactly the same way as dark mode in the normal version of WhatsApp for Windows: it is synchronized with Windows settings, switch between light or dark mode if you change it in Windows
New audio player in WhatsApp for Windows
The new WhatsApp audio player hasn’t arrived on Android yet, but it is on iOS and WhatsApp for Windows. The concept is again the same: being able to control the reproduction of the WhatsApp voice notes from one place
In WhatsApp for Windows, this player appears as a green bar at the bottom of the chat listfrom which you can pause, stop and jump to that voice note with a click, as well as subtly displaying a progress bar.
Whatsapp news on the way
Before news reaches beta versions, it is sometimes unofficially spotted in the application code by specialized sites such as WaBetaInfo. This way we learn first hand about what is whatsapp working onbefore we can test it for ourselves.
Message reactions
the reactions to messages They are one of the star novelties of WhatsApp, which we already know are on their way to WhatsApp for mobile phones and PCs. They will work the same as in other messaging apps like Facebook Messenger: you can react to a message with six emojis.
By long-pressing on a message, you can choose between thumb, heart, laugh, surprise, tear, and prayer emoji to “have your say” on a chat message, without having to type anything that is. These reactions will reach the other person As Notifications.
Backup with limits
During this month, rumors started that backing up WhatsApp to Google Drive would cease to be unlimitedafter some references to it were found in the application code.
In 2018, WhatsApp and Google reached an agreement that the size of WhatsApp backups was not deducted from the total, but that could change. Specific details are not yet known, but rumors say that we will have 2 GB for free instead of an unlimited number, as until now.
Up to two days to delete messages for everyone
Another detail discovered by WaBetaInfo is that WhatsApp could increase the maximum message deletion time for everyone. It would be much more generous than the current time, which is 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds.
Instead, WhatsApp would let you delete a message for everyone if you do so before it’s gone through. 2 days and 12 hours. In the past, WhatsApp has changed this number several times internally without impacting users, so it remains to be seen whether the change ends up affecting everyone or not.
New way to attach photos
During this month, we have also seen a small readjustment in the way you can attach photos to a chat, after tapping the camera icon. Although you can now swipe up to view your recent photos, an additional tab may be included in the future showing all your photos.
That is, after pressing the camera button and swiping up, you would have all your photos sorted by albums in the new gallery tab. This can make it easier for you to attach old photos that are in another album, because to find them in the recent photos view, you would have to do a lot scroll.
new audio player
After a fleeting stint in the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS, the new WhatsApp voice memo player has arrived for everyone to WhatsApp for iPhone. This is an enhancement of the voice player through which you can navigate between different chats without stopping the playback of an audio file.
This voice player appears as a bar above the chat list and continues to play with the screen off, while being able to control it from the lock screen. It came to iPhones first, though. should come to Android later.
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