Two new WhatsApp features are looking to entice you into spending more time on the messenger app.
Facebook WhatsApp
Will they be engrossing or just duds?
Take a look at what is coming first.
A major WhatsApp update was rolled out for the voice messages feature recently.
It allowed users to change playback speed by as much as 1.5x and 2x.
This feature is available on WhatsApp iOS, Android and Web-based platforms. While all of this may be useful for some and others may even find it funny, it’s not pretty, at least not by WhatsApp’s standards. And so, before users let it go as a rather quirky, but not so useful feature, WhatsApp is reportedly working further on it to make it more interesting.
WhatsApp Waveforms
WABetaInfo, the blog site that keeps a track of the new WhatsApp features, reports that the app is working on something called Voice Waveforms.
This feature brings cosmetic changes to the company’s voice messages feature.
As of now, it shows a simple progress-bar-like structure that shows the markup to which a voice message has been played.
The bar progresses as the voice message is played.
The same voice also has a play and pause button and a timestamp that are placed on either side of this progression bar.
Now, word is that it is replacing the existing progression bar with voice waveforms.
This means that users will see a waveform that varies with the sound of the message being played.
The blog site says that the new interface is similar to the one implemented on Instagram’s voice messages.
The new voice waveform feature is available for download for all Android beta testers with WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.13.17 update.
The good news is that while the Facebook-owned messaging app has released this feature on its Android beta app; Facebook is also planning to bring this feature to its iOS-based app.
Sticker Packs
Now, voice waveform is not the only feature coming to WhatsApp’s Android-based app.
It has also rolled out a feature called Forward Sticker Pack on its Android beta app.
This feature is available with WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.21.13.15.
This feature essentially let’s users to quickly forward a sticker pack to a user’s contacts.
However, the blog site says that this feature is not compatible with third-party sticker packs yet. But you can use it with the sticker packs rolled out by WhatsApp.
If you are a beta user, you can check if you have received access to this feature; by checking if there is a forward button available when you open a sticker pack rolled out by WhatsApp in the WhatsApp Sticker Store.
This feature is already in the works for WhatsApp’s iOS-based app.
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