The world of WhatsApp betas is filled with surprises, with testers getting a preview ofunder-development featuresthat may or may not make it to the stable version of the app. Similarly, the Meta-owned chat app was recently working on letting usersshare lengthier videosthrough status updates. WhatsApp is now working on another status-related improvement, with a redesign of the preview/editor page appearing in the app’s latest beta for Android.
Here’s how WhatsApp got better in March 2024
Developers went pin-crazy with the latest beta
In the latest WhatsApp beta for Android (v2.24.7.16) release, the folks atWABetaInfodiscovered a revamped editor page for status updates, offering theTextoption in addition toVideoandPhotooptions at the bottom of the screen. Currently, WhatsApp only supports video and photo updates via theMy statusoption in the Updates tab. An image/video status can also be triggered by tapping the camera FAB (floating action button) situated in the bottom right corner of the Updates tab, just below the pencil icon.
The current status editor/preview page and the newly discovered redesign
Meanwhile, users right now can only access the text-based status editor by tapping the pencil icon in the Updates tab (pictured below). It’s worth noting that WhatsApp currently doesn’t allow changing the status type (text, photo, video) after you’ve entered the editor/preview page. The only option in this scenario is to go back and start afresh. So it looks like the chat app is dealing with a couple of problems with this new redesign. It’s unclear if WhatsApp will get rid of the pencil and camera FABs since this redesign makes them redundant now.
The pencil FAB that currently lets users post text-based status updates
So, with all these things in mind, the conglomeration of the three status update types is understandable, as it makes them more easily accessible and in fewer taps, too, as WABetaInfo rightly notes. The site says this new tweak hasn’t fully rolled out to beta testers yet, though we expect a redesign of this magnitude to become more widely available in the near future.
WhatsApp has some AI features in the works
An early glimpse of the AI-based image editor and Meta AI integration within the search bar via WABetaInfo
Much like any other tech company in 2024, WhatsApp isn’t immune from the AI phenomenon, with Meta announcing its ambitions for the chat appback in September. However, these features are still in the early development stages, so they haven’t been widely rolled out. Luckily, recent beta versions of the chat app have told us what to expect from the much-awaited Meta AI integration into WhatsApp.
Some AI features, such as image editing, that are already available on sister apps like Instagramare on their way to WhatsApp. We’ve also learned about Meta’s plans to integrate its AI chatbotdirectly into WhatsApp’s search barfor instant access to generative AI capabilities. These two AI-related features are still some distance from making the final cut, but they’ve given us a general idea about the direction WhatsApp wants to take with AI.
