WhatsApp has announced an update for the holiday season with nine significant changes, emphasizing features related to calls, statuses, AI, and most notably, the new multimedia center on the desktop version. Let’s explore the latest updates that are rolling out to your devices.
New Answering Machine Feature
With the classic phrase, “Leave your message after the signal,” WhatsApp introduces its own answering machine feature, named ‘Missed Call Messages.’ Although WhatsApp already supports voice and video calls, the absence of an answering machine kept it from providing a complete telephone experience.
This innovative feature allows users to leave a message when they call someone who is unavailable, which becomes particularly handy during the busy holiday season. Now, should a call or video call go unanswered, a button will appear prompting users to record a video or audio message.
Audio Chats and Group Calls
WhatsApp continues to innovate with its new audio chat feature for groups. By activating this function, users can create audio rooms for structured discussions without unnecessary text clutter. A noteworthy addition is that participants can now use reactions to engage without interrupting the main speaker.
During the festive season, group video calls are commonplace. To enhance this experience, WhatsApp has introduced a feature that will highlight the speaker on the screen, making it easier for participants to follow conversations.
New Multimedia Center on Desktop
The new multimedia center icon.
The most noteworthy change is the introduction of a dedicated multimedia center for the computer version of WhatsApp. Heretofore, users had to search for images within individual chats, which was cumbersome. Now, this new center consolidates all photos, documents, and links into one accessible location.
This multimedia hub appears as an icon in the left sidebar, alongside access to archived chats, restricted chats, and saved messages. It captures all documents, messages, images, and videos received in the past 14 days and allows sorting by age and size. Currently, I have only been able to test this feature on Mac, as the Windows app is yet to be updated.
All photos, videos, links, and documents in the same place.
Improvements to Meta AI
Additionally, WhatsApp has enhanced its AI capabilities, also referred to as “the blue WhatsApp circle.” Using improved Midjourney and Flux models, the AI can now produce higher-quality images based on user prompts. You can even request the AI to generate animations of your Christmas greetings by simply saying, “Animate it.”
Other Notable Updates
The recent update also refines how links appear, providing clearer previews and simplifying overly long URLs. New stickers featuring song lyrics and Instagram-style questions are now available within statuses, enhancing user engagement. For those managing a WhatsApp channel, a new questions feature has been introduced, allowing administrators to interact more actively with their audience.
If you wish to benefit from these updates on your mobile device, simply visit the App Store or Google Play (depending on your device), search for WhatsApp, and click the ‘Update’ button.
Images | Xataka, WhatsApp
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