WhatsApp testing new voice waveforms for chat bubbles on iOS and Android

A few months ago, WhatsApp rolled out voice waveforms for the voice recording UI on iOS and Android devices alongside the ability to stop and start a voice message recording. Now, the company is testing a new interface that shows the voice waveforms of sent voice notes. The addition of waveforms to voice recordings will make the interface more interactive by offering a signal to users when a person may take a pause or raise their voice.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp testing new voice waveforms for chat bubbles on iOS

According to WABetaInfo, the new layout is rolling out to select beta tests on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.25.11 and iOS 2.21.240.18 but it has not been rolled out globally.

The publication notes that this experience while playing voice notes was discovered six months ago. However, the company removed the function soon after it was first added to the beta app. Now, with WhatsApp beta Android 2.21.25.11 and iOS 2.21.240.18, the company is bringing back voice waveforms for chat bubbles. As of now, the function is only showing up for some beta testers. More testers should be able to try the feature in the upcoming betas. 

Specific beta testers can now see voice waveforms in chat bubbles, but not always: you can see voice waveforms for your voice notes if the feature is enabled for your WhatsApp account, but voice waveforms may still not show up when receiving a voice note from someone that have the feature disabled or when the voice note has been recorded using an old version of WhatsApp.

Early last week, it was reported that WhatsApp is still making adjustments to the highly-anticipated Reactions feature. Message reactions are reported to be available in individual chat threads and group chat threads allowing users to react to a message using different emojis.

WABetainfo notes that users will be able to “react to a specific message once and reactions are limited to six emojis.” Currently, the available reactions are Like, Love, Laugh, Surprised, Sad, and Thanks. The feature has been spotted during the development of WhatsApp beta for iOS but the company is reportedly also working on bringing the same functionality to Android as well.

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About the Author

Asma is an editor at iThinkDifferent with a strong focus on social media, Apple news, streaming services, guides, mobile gaming, app reviews, and more. When not blogging, Asma loves to play with her cat, draw, and binge on Netflix shows.

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