And it now has wallpapers!
A long time ago, WhatsApp used to be good for nothing but texting. In fact, it didn’t even have a chatting component in the beginning — it only allowed you to add a profile picture and set a status. Since the app was purchased by Facebook (now Meta) in 2014, it started branching out from just offering messages, and added support for voice calling in 2015 — complementing it with group calls in 2018. The app hasn’t seen a major redesign in years, and some parts have started to look a little stale. Now, it’s testing a refined design for the call UI — and dare we say it, it looks absolutely clean.
This isn’t actually the first time we’re seeing this redesign — we initially heard about it all the way back in December. But in our past coverage, we only had iOS screenshots, and even then, the design was still in a very early stage. Thanks to WABetaInfo, we now have a closer look at it — on Android, nonetheless — and it’s looking much more complete. Just like we saw a couple of months back, a rounded gray square can be seen front and center, holding your contact’s name, number, and profile picture as well as how long the call has been going for.
Previously, the background was black, but now it’s ornamented by WhatsApp’s default wallpaper. The source mentions there’s no way to customize it at this point, but that might change in the future (or it’ll just be synced with your chat’s wallpaper). We also get a glimpse at what group chats will look like in this new design, and they definitely seem a lot less cluttered than they currently do.
If you want to try it out on your device, make sure you download the latest beta version from APK Mirror, 2.22.5.4 — the Play Store beta program is all filled up, unfortunately. Even with this release, your mileage may vary. I’m on the beta, and I don’t have this new design, so it’s safe to say it’s being A/B tested. It doesn’t hurt to try, though.
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