The new bar is attached to the bottom of the screen and includes four tabs – Chats, Updates, Communities and Conversations – instead of the old tab bar that contained a small tab for Communities and larger tabs for Chats, Status and Conversations, in that order.
WhatsApp explained that the new bottom bar design is closer to the thumbs and therefore easier to reach. The bar also supports swiping to the side to skip between tabs. The app has already been updated on the Play Store.
As you may remember, WhatsApp plans to launch more innovations soon: according to a recent report, WhatsApp realized that the status feature was in high demand and therefore decided to extend the videos uploaded to the status. According to the report, the company released a beta version for Android devices for developer testing, which combines the possibility of updating a status with a video up to a minute long. Meanwhile, Meta is also testing the Android version for the option to transcribe voice notes that was previously available in the beta version for IOS users on Apple devices.
WhatsApp is also testing the ability to hide a preview of links in chats. At the end of last month, the messaging software also launched new text formatting options for the existing bold, italic, strikethrough formats, including bold and link highlights.
Last September it was reported that Meta is testing the WhatsApp version for iPads: from the first screenshots that were released to the network, the connection to the iPad version is similar to connecting to WhatsApp on the computer and it is done by scanning a QR code, after which the WhatsApp application connects directly to the personal account with its size adapted to the Apple tablet screen, without the need to connect again. WhatsApp’s iPad application is expected to include all the familiar features, including the option of phone or video calls.