android central: WhatsApp is getting dark mode on desktop, animated stickers, and more

mercredi 1 juillet 2020

WhatsApp is getting dark mode on desktop, animated stickers, and more

With over 2 billion users around the globe, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app on the planet. As such, the service is continually adding features and enhancing the experience. However, with that big of a user base, it doesn’t roll out features haphazardly. Things tend to be in development for a long time, which is the case with animated stickers, QR codes, and extended dark mode.

WhatsApp has been working on animated stickers for over a year and they’re finally ready to roll out. Like you can find on plenty of other messaging platforms, animated stickers are simply stickers that move. They add an extra layer of expression to the static stickers (which are still available as well).

Next up is QR codes for profiles, which was added to the beta channel in late May. These make it easy to share your profile with other WhatsApp users by generating a scannable code. In some situations, it’s easier to scan a QR code than to give out your phone number.

WhatsApp finally rolled out its long-awaited dark mode on Android back in March. However, the web and desktop apps didn’t get it. There was evidence of the desktop app getting dark mode earlier this year and now it’s official. The dark theme is available on the web and the desktop.

Lastly, WhatsApp is adding the ability to long-press on a person in a group call to maximize their video. There is also now an icon in group text chats of 8 people or less to quickly start a video call. This all goes along with WhatsApps’s recent expansion of the group calling feature.

Look for all of these features to be rolling out to WhatsApp over the “next few weeks.”