The new WhatsApp voice calling UI is sleek and utilizes the screen space better. WABetaInfo (via Pocketnow) provides a side-by-side comparison of the existing UI (on the left) and the new one to help us understand what’s different. As you can see from the screenshot, the bottom row of onscreen buttons remains unchanged. But there’s a separate box on top that contains the contact’s display image plus the name/number and the duration of the call. The contact name/number would be shown in green rather than white as per the screenshots. This newly formed box has rounded edges in line with modern-day apps. The source suggests that the interface would look particularly appealing during group voice calls. Although the screenshots are for the iOS version of WhatsApp, WABetaInfo claims it will eventually roll out to Android as well.
When will this feature begin rolling out?
Since this is an under-development feature, there’s no ETA available at the moment. So the wait could be anywhere between weeks to months. We would have a better idea of this new UI’s availability when it reaches WhatsApp beta. We’ve reported on a bunch of new WhatsApp features over the past few weeks. More recently, the Meta-owned chat client brought new controls for admins or moderators of WhatsApp groups. The update finally allowed admins to delete messages from group participants. Users will notice a “This was deleted by an admin” banner whenever a message is removed. The feature first appeared on WhatsApp beta 2.22.1.1, so its arrival on the stable channel shouldn’t be far away. Separately, the company is bringing a message reaction notifications feature to the app. This feature works similarly to message reactions on the Facebook app. While this would be pretty pointless for individual chats, message reactions could quickly gain traction on WhatsApp group chats. It’s clear that WhatsApp is hard at work developing new features for its mobile apps. These additions also serve as good distractions from the company’s recent controversies.
