Shillong, August 6: Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is launching a new animated avatar feature for its iOS beta users. To check if the feature is enabled for their account, users need to open the keyboard and select the avatar tab, as reported by WABetainfo.
Once enabled, beta users will see some animations for certain avatars. The best part is that users can share these animated avatars with anyone, even if the recipient is not using the beta version.
As per IANS, currently, only a limited number of stickers are animated, but it is expected that WhatsApp will gradually introduce animated versions for the entire avatar pack in the future. This new feature aims to add more life and personality to stickers, providing a richer communication experience.
The animated avatar feature is currently available to some beta testers who have installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS update from the TestFlight app. The rollout will continue over the next few days, reaching more users gradually.
WhatsApp has been actively improving its features on iOS, with recent releases including landscape mode support for video calls, a silence unknown callers option, and the ability to natively transfer full account history when switching to a new device. Additionally, a redesigned sticker tray with improved navigation and a larger set of stickers, including more avatars, has also been introduced.
In another update, WhatsApp allowed users on iOS beta to send high-quality videos, although minor compression is still applied to maintain video dimensions. Users can opt for the ‘Standard quality’ option for all videos, but they have the choice to select the high-quality option for sending videos with better quality on a per-use basis.
