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WhatsApp frequently introduces new features and fine-tunes existing ones to enhance the user experience. After adding support for HD photos and videos in chats, it was recently spotted working on HD status updates. The app has another quality-of-life improvement in the pipeline for its Status feature, which is equivalent to Stories on Instagram. A new reply bar simplifies how you respond to status updates posted by your friends.
WhatsApp is adding a reply bar to status updates
Currently, status updates on WhatsApp feature a tiny “Reply” button at the bottom, along with an arrow pointing up. You can tap on this button or swipe up on the screen to respond with an emoji or a full-length message. While this is a fairly seamless experience, the Meta-owned messaging app is making it more intuitive with a persistent reply bar, something already found on Instagram stories.
With the upcoming WhatsApp update, a pill-shaped horizontal bar appears at the bottom of status updates with the text “Reply” overlayed. Tapping it will open up the regular message compose box. The persistent bar covers almost the entire width of the screen, making it easier to send a reply quickly. You don’t need to swipe up or precisely tap on the tiny centered button, though the swipe gesture shouldn’t be going away.
The addition of a reply bar doesn’t change how WhatsApp currently shows eight emoji reactions on the screen when responding to status updates. They appear above the compose box and don’t go away even as you start typing your response. Instagram also shows six emoji reaction shortcuts but they disappear as soon as you type something on the reply bar.
WhatsApp has already begun public testing of this update
The latest change on WhatsApp was spotted by the ever-reliable WhatsApp insiders at WABetaInfo. The publication reports that the reply bar for status updates is already available to beta users with WhatsApp beta version 2.23.26.3 for Android and 23.15.10.72 for iOS. If everything goes as planned, an official public rollout of the new feature may follow in the coming weeks.
If you want to try it out early on your Android smartphone, you can sign up for WhatsApp’s beta program. Once you have joined the program, install the beta version of WhatsApp from the Google Play Store. Note that some in-development features may not be available to all beta users simultaneously. The beta app may also be unstable and buggy. Stay tuned for the official release of the reply bar for status updates on WhatsApp.
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