New features coming to WhatsApp
WhatsApp seems to be busy testing out a range of new features these days.
Things like picture-in-picture are already available on other apps whilst ‘dark mode’ seems to be the flavour of the month at the moment with tech companies.
Either way, these will probably be working their way down to your phone at some point in the coming months.
One of the best ways to make sure you’ve always got the latest features is to sign up for WhatsApp Beta. This gives you early access to some of the newest features that are still being tested.
Admittedly, that means you may see some bugs and crashes but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Here are some of the new features coming to WhatsApp soon
Consecutive Voice Messages
You’ll soon be able to have WhatsApp automatically queue and play your voice messages one after the other.
First spotted on iOS, it’s also believed to be coming to Android as well. This likely come in an incremental app update at some point.
Dark mode
Just like every other tech platform out there, WhatsApp is planning to bring out a dark mode for nighttime viewing.
The website WABetaInfo, which specialises in revealing upcoming WhatsApp feature, said the dark mode is currently under development.
It might sound pointless, but it’s been claimed the function could save battery life on your devices. All this feature does is turn windows from white to black.
Facebook is also going to introduce its own dark mode to Facebook Messenger.
Picture-in-Picture
One of the most anticipated is the option to send a YouTube or Facebook video within a message rather than just a link.
The so-called picture-in-picture mode will display a video box without leaving the main WhatsApp app.
It’s not yet generally available yet, but you can get it on your phone if you’re willing to enroll in WhatsApp’s beta program.
Group call shortcut
That’ll change in time as WhatsApp plans to add a shortcut button that’ll allow you to start a group call from scratch.
You’ll be able to pre-select the contacts you want to chat with and then send out the call simultaneously. This should be a huge time-saver in the future
Media preview
Another pretty simple, but helpful, new feature is the media preview option that will appear in the notifications tray. This means if someone sends you an image or a GIF you won’t have to go into the app to view it. You can just slide your notifications panel down from above to see what’s been sent.
At the moment, this looks like being limited to iOS. There’s a high chance it’ll come to Android devices in time, but it’s delayed because the operating system is used by a greater number of devices with different specs and screen types.
QR Codes
According to reports, WhatsApp will soon start recognising QR codes as a way to share numbers quickly with other people.
This is already in use on WhatsApp’s web application, which lets you use the messaging service on a desktop computer.
For safety reasons, users will also be able to revoke a QR code to stop it being shared or spread around without their consent.
WABetaInfo wrote: ‘When you want to add a new contact in WhatsApp, you can choose to add it using a WhatsApp QR Code, if you have it.
‘When the QR code is detected, WhatsApp will automatically fill all fields and the contact will be added in your address book.’
Status adverts
Not every WhatsApp update is necessarily a good thing.
Another update being primed for the service is called ‘status ads’, which will appear between status updates.
The Status tab is effectively a version of Snapchat’s Stories where users can post videos, images or GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. Facebook says that 450 million of WhatsApp’s user base are currently using the Status page.
The ads will appear in the app’s status feature from 2019, according to founder Brian Acton, who said it’s one of the reasons he left the company.
In an interview with Forbes earlier this year, Acton said: ‘Targeted advertising is what makes me unhappy.’
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