In November 2023, WhatsApp started testing the ability in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android for people to forward or rewind a video by double-tapping on the right or the left side of the display/video. While the feature still hasn’t made it to the stable version of WhatsApp for Android, it is here on the stable version of WhatsApp for iOS.
On Monday, WhatsApp released version 24.6.77 of WhatsApp for iOS on the App Store. In the changelog for the latest version of the app, the company says “You can quick forward/rewind by double tapping the edge of a video.” Once you double-tap on the right of the screen during video playback, the app forwards the video by ten seconds. Similarly, when you double-tap on the left of the display, it rewinds the video by ten seconds. The latest feature gives people better control over video playback.
At the moment, there’s no information about when the company will make the new video playback controls available in the stable version of WhatsApp for Android. However, considering that it is live in WhatsApp for iOS, we expect the feature to come to Android in the next few weeks. On a related note, WhatsApp is working on making it easier for people to access Meta AI in the messaging platform, allowing people to read transcripts for voice messages, and offering an option to send HD photos by default.
WhatsApp has been busy developing a video fast-forward and rewind feature, with the new feature arriving for iOS devices soon. The feature will apply to videos sent and received within the instant messaging app, with users able to double-tap the right side of the screen to fast forward and the left side of the screen to rewind the video currently playing by ten seconds.
According to Neowin, the feature has been in testing since last year, and works similarly to analogous features in mobile streaming apps like YouTube or Netflix. This feature will come included in Whatsapp by default once users update to the latest version via the App Store. You can read the full changelog for yourself if you’d like more details on what Whatsapp has changed for iOS users, but this is the headline item.
Some other standout features arriving in the popular messaging app are the ability to instantly record videos while in chats by long-pressing the camera icon next to the chat’s text field, and a revised design of the chat attachment tray.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Ground Picture)
A whole bushel of new features, with more to come
The changelog’s full list of features will reportedly roll out to all users in the coming weeks, although it doesn’t make mention of Google Play – only iOS. Fortunately, Whatsapp users with Android can apparently already make use of the new quick forward/rewind feature, which tracks since the beta testing that was being done by Whatsapp took place on Android. All users can also skip forward or backward by opening the video and dragging the progress bar within the video player by the amount of time they’d like to skip.
The Video Messages instant video recording and messaging feature entered testing last year for iOS and Android, allowing users to instantly record and send videos up to a minute long. Previously it was somewhat hidden, located confusingly within the microphone instant record feature.
Neowin notes that there are more features in Whatsapp’s pipeline too, like Favorites for the Calls tab, allowing users to set the default media upload quality, the ability to filter group chats, enabling users to share status updates from companion devices, and more.
These are all interesting potential additions to the popular messaging app, although it seems that Whatsapp is currently not focusing on some issues around privacy that have users turning to competing encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram. That said, for existing users who are happy enough with Whatsapp’s performance and functionality, these sound like useful additions and I can see users positively receiving them.
Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.
Currently, you can access Meta AI in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android in two ways. First, by tapping the Meta AI button on the Chats tab, which will open the conversation with the chatbot. Second, by searching for Meta AI in contacts and then tapping on the contact to open the conversation with the chatbot. Once the chat opens, you can ask your queries to Meta AI and the chatbot will answer them, Well, Meta is now making it even easier to access Meta AI in WhatsApp.
According to WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.23.25.15) allows you to interact with Meta AI using the search bar. To be more specific, you can now enter your query for the chatbot in the search bar and the app will show you an option to search that query using Meta AI. However, there’s no info on what happens once you click on that option. We are assuming that the app will open the chat with Meta AI and show you the answer to that query.
With WhatsApp allowing people to access Meta AI more easily, more and more users will start using it, and eventually, get habituated to the chatbot and rely more on it. That will increase the usage of Meta AI, taking it one step closer to becoming a major feature of WhatsApp and a hit. At the moment, there’s no information about when WhatsApp will make the new UI available to the public. However, we expect the company to roll it out to the public in the next few months.
WhatsApp compresses all the images and videos unless you share them as documents. And many people get annoyed by the drop in quality of images and videos shared through WhatsApp. Last year, the app introduced the ability to share HD (actually 4K resolution) quality media, but you have to explicitly select that option. If you are tired of selecting the HD option every time, you might be in for a treat.
WhatsApp to bring the ability to select HD quality as the default resolution setting for sending images and videos
The Meta-owned company is working on a feature that lets you choose the default image and video quality for all your messages. WABetaInfo has found that WhatsApp is testing an option in the app’s Storage And Data settings that lets you choose between ‘Standard’ and ‘HD’ quality for all the images and videos that you share. This feature has been found in the 2.24.5.6 version of WhatsApp for Android.
After thorough testing is done, WhatsApp could release this feature to all Android users. You can expect to see this option on your Galaxy (or any other Android) device in the coming months.
Right now, when you share images and videos, you have to select the HD option every single time if you want to share higher-quality media. Many normal users don’t even know that this option exists, so many images and videos aren’t even shared in HD quality by default. Once this feature is released the usage of HD quality might increase and it will make it easier to send higher-quality media for those who want to use it.
WhatsApp is slated to receive a pair of AI-powered upgrades aiming to help people answer tough questions on the fly, as well as edit images on the platform.
Starting with answering questions, the upgrade integrates one of Meta’s AI models into the WhatsApp search bar. Doing so, according to WABetaInfo, would allow users to directly input queries without having to create a separate chat room for the AI. You’d be able to hold a quick conversation right on the same page.
It appears this is an extension of the in-app assistants that originally came out back in November 2023. A screenshot in the report reveals WhatsApp will provide a handful of prompts to get a conversation flowing.
It’s unknown just how capable the search bar AI will be. The assistants are available in different personas specializing in certain topics. But looking at the aforementioned screenshot, it appears the search bar will house the basic Meta AI model. It would be really fun if we could assign the Snoop Dogg persona as the main assistant.
📝 WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.7.14: what’s new?WhatsApp is working on a feature to ask queries to Meta AI, and it will be available in a future update!https://t.co/qSqJ9JobbK pic.twitter.com/mKM9PLCF3VMarch 23, 2024
See more
AI image editing
The second update is a collection of image editing features discovered by industry expert AssembleDebug, after diving into a recent WhatsApp beta. AssembleDebug discovered three possibly upcoming tools – Backdrop, Restyle, and Expand. It’s unknown exactly what they do as not a single one works. However the first two share a name with other features currently available on Instagram, so they may, in fact, function the same way.
Backdrop could let users change the background of an image into something different via text prompt. Restyle can completely alter the art style of an uploaded picture. Think of these like filters, but more capable. You can make a photograph into a watercolor painting or pixel art. It’s even possible to create wholly unique content through a text prompt.
(Image credit: AssembleDebug/TheSPAndroid)
Expand is the new kid on the block. Judging by the name, AssembleDebug theorizes it’ll harness the power of AI “to expand images beyond their visible area”. Technology like this already exists on other platforms. Photoshop, for example, has Generative Expand, and Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series can expand images after they have been adjusted by rotation.
Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.
WhatsApp gaining such an ability would be a great inclusion as it’ll give users a robust editing tool that is free. Most versions of this tech are locked behind a subscription or tied to a specific device.
Do keep in mind neither beta is available to early testers at the time of this writing. They’re still in the works, and as stated earlier, we don’t know the full capabilities of either set. Regardless of their current status, it is great to see that one day WhatsApp may come equipped with AI tech on the same level as what you’d find on Instagram especially when it comes to the search bar assistant. The update will make accessing that side of Meta software more convenient for everyone.
In the current version of WhatsApp for Android, when you paste a link to a website in the text input field, the app loads its preview, showing you the title, description, and thumbnail of the webpage, and when you send that message, it shows the preview to the other person as well, instead of just showing the link.
Some people, including me, don’t like to send a preview of a webpage, as it makes the chat look cluttered and doesn’t show the link in full. For those people, WhatsApp gives you the option to remove the preview. However, removing the preview every time you paste a link could get tiring. Well, WhatsApp is working to solve that.
According to a new report from WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.24.7.12) offers a new option called ‘Disable link previews.’ Once you enable this option, WhatsApp will not load previews of links, saving you from removing the preview every time you paste a link in the text input field.
You can access the new feature by going to Settings » Privacy » Advanced and enabling the ‘Disable link previews’ option. At the moment, there’s no info on when WhatsApp will bring the feature to the stable version of the app. That being said, we expect the company to roll it out to the public in the next few weeks.
WhatsApp allows you to post videos of up to 30 seconds in length in your status, and people have been requesting the platform to increase the limit. Well, the company has heard and it is extending the limit of videos that you can post in your status.
According to a new report from WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.24.7.6) allows you to post videos of up to 60 seconds or one minute in length in your status. The publication says that the company is rolling out the feature to a limited number of users and that you will need to have the latest version of the app not only for posting longer videos but also for watching videos that have a duration of more than 30 seconds.
Up until now, people had to post multiple status updates to share a video that’s longer than 30 seconds in length. With the latest change, if the video they want to share has a duration of one minute or less, they can share it in a single status update. At the moment, there’s no information about when WhatsApp will start rolling out the latest update to the stable version of the app. Expect it to happen after it thoroughly tests the feature, which could take a few weeks.
Last month, WABetaInfo reported that WhatsApp is testing a new feature in the WhatsApp app for iOS that can transcribe voice messages. Well, the company has now started testing the same feature in the WhatsApp app for Android.
According to WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.24.7.8) can convert the content in voice messages into text, allowing you to read the content in a voice note rather than listening to the voice message. The ability to do so comes in handy in situations where you can’t listen to audio but can read text.
As you can see in the screenshot shared by WABetaInfo, once the feature becomes available, WhatsApp will notify you about it with a pop-up that says “Read before you listen with transcripts.” According to it, “To enable transcripts, 150MB of new app data will be downloaded” and “WhatsApp uses your device’s speech recognition to provide end-to-end encrypted transcripts.” Once you click on the Enable button on the pop-up, the app will download the required resources and enable the feature.
At the moment, there’s no information about when WhatsApp will roll out the feature to the stable version of the app. Expect that to happen when the company thoroughly tests the feature, which should take at least a few weeks.
WhatsApp allows you to pin a chat, which fixes the conversation to the top of the list even if there are no new messages in it and even if there are new messages in other, non-pinned chats. Currently, the platform allows you to pin up to three chats. While that number should be enough for most people, it might not be sufficient for the remaining. To address the issue, WhatsApp is now increasing the number of chats that you can pin.
According to a new report from WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.24.6.13) allows you to pin up to five chats. According to the publication, the additional limit is not available by default, and it had to be activated manually. However, that’s only because the new limit is in the beta stage. When WhatsApp makes the new limit available in the stable version of the app, it should be active by default.
The ability to pin up to five chats could be very useful for people who use WhatsApp heavily, converse with many people, and want to pin more chats. At the moment, there’s no information about when WhatsApp will bring the new limit to the stable version of the app. However, considering WhatsApp’s feature rollout history, the company should make the ability to pin up to five chats available more widely in the next few months.
WhatsApp start started to roll out its self-destructing voice messages globally, the new View Once Voice Messages for WhatsApp are now available globally, the company previously offered this feature for photos and videos.
We introduced View Once for photos and videos back in 2021 to add another layer of privacy to your messages. Today, we’re excited to announce you can now send a voice message that will disappear once listened to.
For reading out your credit card details to a friend, or when you’re planning a surprise, you can now also share sensitive information over voice message with added peace of mind. For consistency with View Once photos and videos, View Once voice messages are clearly marked with the “one-time” icon and can only be played one time.
As with all your personal messages, WhatsApp protects your voice messages with end-to-end encryption by default, and View Once is just another example of our continued privacy innovation.
You can find out more details about WhatsApp View Once self-destructing voice messages are over at WhatsApp at the link below, as soon as you have listened to the message it will automatically be deleted. WhatsApp have said that the new features is being rolled out globally over the coming days.
Source WhatsApp
Filed Under: Mobile Phone News, Technology News
Latest timeswonderful Deals
Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, timeswonderful may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
