The appearance of WhatsApp on Android has changed, using one hand is getting easier

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WhatsApp announced changes to the appearance of their application on Android devices. This change is said to make navigation easier for users.

Quoting information from GSM Arena, Monday (1/4/2024), this WhatsApp design change was made to the position of the tabs displayed in the application. If previously the menu tab was placed at the top, now its position has been moved to the bottom.

"Meet your new navigation tool, closer to your thumb and comfortable to look at," wrote WhatsApp via the official social media account of Meta's chat application.

Apart from being moved to the bottom, the menu tab arrangement in the WhatsApp application on Android has also changed. Now, users will find the Chats, Updates, Communities, and Calls tabs.

For your information, the Updates tab replaces the previous Status tab. Apart from that, WhatsApp has also added icons to each tab, different from previously which were only available on the Communities tab.

Other changes have also been made to the background color across tabs. If previously it was green, now the background of all tabs is white, so it looks the same as the chat column.

"Android friends, we have moved a number of things to make it easier for you to access the features you need, when you need them," wrote the chat application's social media account.

Based on monitoring by Tekno MasterWeb, this navigation change has been going on for several weeks.

A number of Android device users in Indonesia have already experienced this appearance change, but WhatsApp has only announced it now.

As is known, this change in the appearance of the WhatsApp application makes it easier for users to access a number of menu tabs directly. In fact, the tab can be accessed with one hand.

WhatsApp Prepares AI-Based Image Editor Feature

On the other hand, WhatsApp is also reportedly currently working on a feature that allows users to edit images using a photo editor supported by artificial intelligence (AI).

With this feature, users can change the image background, photo style, or 'expand' the photo using AI. The feature will be rolled out to users in the future.

Meanwhile, the company is also working on a feature where users can ask questions to the 'Meta AI' service directly from the WhatsApp search bar.

According to feature tracker WABetaInfo as quoted from Gadgets360, Monday (25/3/2024), the WhatsApp beta update version 2.24.7.13 for Android contains code for an AI-assisted image editor feature.

At this time, the feature cannot be tested by users who have signed up to receive the beta version of the app.

Meanwhile, WABetaInfo discovered the generative AI chat feature in the latest WhatsApp beta 2.24.7.14 for Android.

This latest feature lets users use the search bar at the top of the app to ask questions to Meta AI, a generative AI assistant for Meta products designed to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Uploading videos on WA Status can now take up to 60 seconds

Meanwhile, WhatsApp is testing a new feature that allows users to share videos in WhatsApp status updates with a longer duration.

Until now, the messaging application from Meta limits the duration of status video uploads to 30 seconds. That way, users need to cut long videos so they can be uploaded to WA status.

However, now WhatsApp has developed a feature that allows users to upload status videos up to 60 seconds long.

Quoted from Android Authority, a leading source regarding various new features on WhatsApp, WABetaInfo, found this feature in the latest beta version of WhatsApp (2.24.7.6) for Android.

Currently, the WA status video duration feature of up to 60 seconds can only be accessed by some users who are beta testers.

Apart from that, if you want to see longer status videos, users must use the latest version of WhatsApp.

WhatsApp on Android will have a voice message transcription feature

Not only that, WhatsApp is rumored to be releasing a transcription feature for voice messages received via Android devices. Previously, this feature was available for devices running iOS.

Quoted from Android Headlines, Thursday (21/3/2024), the transcription feature on WhatsApp is known from the string in the application's APK. It is stated that there is a string indicating that this feature is being developed.

The string mentions voice message transcription along with information about this feature. It was also explained that there is around 150MB of additional data that needs to be downloaded to use this feature.

The string mentions voice message transcription along with information about this feature. It was also explained that there is around 150MB of additional data that needs to be downloaded to use this feature.

For your information, the transcript feature in the WhatsApp application was first launched for iOS devices in 2023. As the name suggests, this feature will transcribethesis of the voice messages received by the user.