WhatsApp is changing its interface on Android by moving the navigation menu to the bottom. And soon, the app should also change the screen that appears when you make audio or video calls.
Over the past few months, WhatsApp has continued to be full of new features, to the delight of its approximately two billion users. Pinned messages, screen sharing, new text formatting functions, new blocking system, and soon interoperability with other instant messengers… So many very practical functions. And Meta does not intend to stop there, many new features are in preparation in the beta version of the application. But sometimes, you have to wait a long time before they arrive on the stable version of instant messaging! Also, after almost a year of beta, Meta is finally deploying its new menu bar within the Android version of WhatsApp, thus aligning the interface with iPhone and making navigation more practical. The company is also taking the opportunity to test a new interface for the screen that appears when you make calls.
WhatsApp interface: several changes in orders
As advertised on the official WhatsApp X account, the horizontal bar of WhatsApp, which is normally located in the green banner at the top of the screen, is now found at the bottom, with the “Discussions”, “News”, “Communities” and “Calls” tabs. A way of “facilitate access to what you need, when you need it” and make the interface more modern. Note that you can always move from one window to another by swiping the screen with your finger. To take advantage of this new feature, simply update your application in the Play Store, if you have not already done so.
But Meta does not intend to stop there and intends to push the redesign of the interface much further, in particular for the call screen – when you are in the middle of a telephone conversation. TheSpAndroid discovered new buttons in beta version 2.23.17.16 of the application. So the “Back” button, which is normally at the top left, is replaced by a “Collapse” button. A way to provide more clarity and not give the impression that we are going to end the call. The lower bar, for its part, has more marked icons, which are five in number instead of four: menu, video call, speaker, microphone and hang up.
Another change occurs in the buttons that appear when your interlocutor wants to switch from a voice call to a video call. The “Refuse” and “Accept” buttons now take up more space, particularly in terms of width, and are entitled to new colors.
We do not know when these changes will be available to the general public. Previous beta versions of WhatsApp had introduced other redesigns, such as new chat filters, a new tone of green and a more refined and modern interface in general (see our article). It remains to be seen whether they will actually see the light of day.