WhatsApp testing new message bubbles on iOS

Following the official rollout of its Liquid Glass redesign to most WhatsApp users on iOS, the messaging platform is now testing another visual change, this time focused on the look of its chat bubbles. Here are the details.

New chat bubbles look slightly more rounded

A couple of months ago, WhatsApp finally began rolling out its Liquid Glass redesign more broadly, following several months of testing and refining the new look with select users through TestFlight.

Around the same time, WABetaInfo uncovered references in the app’s code pointing to a redesign of WhatsApp’s chat bubbles. Now, the site reports that new bubbles are beginning to reach select users running the latest TestFlight build.

Here’s WABetaInfo:

The attached image shows both designs side by side. You can see the old design on the left and the new one on the right. With this image, you can immediately notice the difference between these two designs. The current bubbles have slightly rounded corners, but they still retain a fairly defined and structured outline. Instead, the new bubbles take that much further, and their corners are significantly more rounded with a softer shape. The result looks noticeably closer to the bubble style used in iMessage, which many iPhone users are already familiar with. In addition, it perfectly aligns with the recent Liquid Glass update for the chat interface.

In addition to reshaping message bubbles, the new design changes how media and links appear in conversations. WhatsApp has removed the green outline surrounding them, giving photos, videos, GIFs, and link previews a cleaner, more integrated look.

WABetaInfo notes that the new look is available to select users running WhatsApp’s TestFlight build. Right now, there is no word on when it will roll out more broadly to all users on iOS.

To read WABetaInfo’s full report, follow this link.

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