WhatsApp announced via a blog post that its voice message feature is getting some much-needed attention over the coming weeks. Finally.
WhatsApp claims that over 7 billion voice messages are sent on the platform every day. With that kind of traffic, it makes perfect sense for WhatsApp to be putting so much effort into the feature.
What’s new
One of the biggest changes arriving over the next few weeks is the Out of Chat Playback function. Users can continue listening to a voice message without needing to stay in the chat. The feature means users can listen to lengthier messages while continuing other tasks. This might also account for the other changes.
Sending longer voice messages is getting way easier. Users can pause a voice message right in the middle of recording it, finishing their recording when the mood strikes. The same applies to listening to any voice messages. If a voice message is bordering on boring, pause it and WhatsApp will remember the spot for you. At long last.
If the message is boring but essential, users can speed through them at either 1.5x or 2x speeds. It’s like listening to podcasts, except nobody really interesting is making them. WhatsApp has also added Draft Preview, allowing users to play their own message back before sending it. This will help prevent sending voice messages with missing audio.
Visual flair
While recording voice messages on WhatsApp is improving substantially, the same could be said of looking at voice messages. A new Waveform Visualisation is being added, allowing users to see a visualisation of their voice in the message. Some folks may already have this feature, but the pending update will bring it to all versions of the app around the world.
Some of these features will be familiar to users of other apps. WhatsApp, despite its flaws, remains the largest platform of its type. It’s about time it caught up with others who do this sort of thing properly. The messaging app has not detailed any official launch dates but has confirmed that its new audio changes will roll out over the next few weeks.
