WhatsApp constantly reinvents itself, with major updates for the general public and testers.
The meta-owned company is one of the largest messaging services in the world, and most smartphone owners in South Africa have a profile.
With its sheer popularity, WhatsApp will test its new features with beta testers first to identify potential bugs before releasing them to the public.
Data service WABetaInfo breaks down the latest Android, iOS and Web beta developments.
Below are three changes that the data service has highlighted recently:
AI Voices
In a beta for Android, WABetaInfo said that WhatsApp is currently experimenting with a new voice chat mode to communicate with Meta AI.
This mode will allow users to engage with Meta AI in real time through conversations in the future.
Although the voice chat mode is still under development, WhatsApp seems to be making progress toward its release.
WhatsApp is exploring the ability to change the AI voice, with users being allowed to pick from 10 different voices for Meta AI.
Users will be allowed to experiment with the different voices to find one that best fits their needs.
“In our opinion, the ability to choose a different voice can make interactions with Meta AI feel more personalized and engaging in the future,” said WABetaInfo.
Event management
A new public update for IOS has brought the possibility of creating events in regular group chats.
The option to organize events allows users to input event details such as the name, description, date, and optional location and choose between a voice or video call.
Once an event starts, all members who accepted the invitation will receive a notification to keep them informed of the latest news.
All of these event details are end-to-end encrypted, meaning that participants in the group chat will have access to the information while still maintaining privacy.
For those that do not have the feature, some accounts may need to wait a few weeks to receive the update.
Avatar Visibility
A new Android Beta showed that WhatsApp is working on a new update that will allow users to make their avatars visible in their profiles.
“Specifically, other users will be able to see your avatar when they swipe your profile picture in the chat info screen, providing an additional layer of personalization and identity,” said WABetaInfo
“This feature will enhance how users represent themselves in chats by giving their contacts a quick way to view their avatar alongside their profile details.”
“We can also confirm that this feature will be very similar to the one already available on Instagram, where avatars are displayed in user profiles.
Users will be prompted to update to get the new look through a new notification as it goes live.
Once updated, users’ avatars will automatically reflect their new look, but they can still edit them to match their preferences.
“We believe that this update will offer users more ways to personalize how they present themselves and ensure their profile avatars remain fresh and representative of their current style.”
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