WhatsApp has been working on a lot of somewhat inspired features from its competitor Telegram recently. And now the popular messaging app is experimenting with its own version of animated emoji that replace the ones from iOS and Android.
WhatsApp users will soon get animated emoji
As reported by WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp Desktop beta includes some animated emoji. These emoji look very similar to the Telegram ones, which appear in the chat in a larger size. They’re also sent automatically when the animated version for a specific emoji is available. This means that users won’t have the option to choose between the regular emoji or the animated WhatsApp version.
While animated emoji will certainly make conversations more fun for some people, others may be bothered by the fact that these can’t be turned off. Telegram, for example, lets users disable animated emoji, but the beta version of WhatsApp still lacks a similar option.
WABetaInfo explains that the animated emoji feature in WhatsApp is currently “under development” for the Web and Desktop versions of WhatsApp. According to the report, the platform also has plans to bring these emoji to its iPhone and Android apps. However, it’s uncertain when exactly this will happen.
It’s worth noting that when Telegram introduced animated emoji, Apple rejected the update on the App Store because the animated versions were based on Apple’s emoji design. Telegram had to remove the pack of animated emoji that looked very similar to Apple’s in order to get the update approved.
More new features coming soon
Besides animated emoji, there are other new features that WhatsApp has been working on. For example, the platform is experimenting with short video messages – another feature that already exists in Telegram. The platform has also been working on a new Expiring Groups feature for specific occasions.
WhatsApp is available for free on the App Store. It requires an iPhone running iOS 12 or later.
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