WhatsApp Starts Rolling Out New Voice Message Interface and Features

Voice messages or "voice notes" are often the preferred form of communication on WhatsApp, with on average around 7 billion sent over the platform every day, and today WhatsApp has announced several new features to improve the experience of using them.
whatsapp voice messages

The most notable change that recently came out of beta testing is out-of-chat playback, which lets you listen to a voice message outside of the chat so you can multitask or read and respond to other messages.

If you play a voice note and then switch to the WhatsApp home screen or to a different chat thread, a new voice message playback interface appears at the top of the app with buttons to pause, resume, or dismiss the voice note, along with a waveform visualization and progress bar.

It's now possible to pause a received voice message and pick up where you left off when you return to the chat, and you can also play voice messages at 1.5x or 2x speeds to listen to messages faster on both regular and forwarded messages.

Lastly, when recording a voice message, you can now pause the recording and resume it when ready, while draft previews let you listen to your voice messages before sending them.

WhatsApp says the new voice message features are rolling out to all users of the encrypted chat service over the coming weeks.

Top Rated Comments

emdub Avatar
26 months ago
As someone who travels regularly from Europe to Brasil I cannot begin to describe how ingrained whatsapp is in (my part of) Brasil. EVERYTHING goes through it. They call it "Zappy". If I want a meeting with the bank manager, I schedule it with a Zappy. If I want beer delivery at home, Zappy. If I want to send my accountant or Lawyers some files, Zappy. Taxi? Zappy. Covid test? Zappy. Even TV commercials sometimes reference a "Zappy" contact for orders, support and information. This voice note feature is the most used... and I absolutely hate it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KOTN91 Avatar
26 months ago
Lol it still looks like it’s stuck in about 2013
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ifti Avatar
26 months ago
WhatsApp is what iMessage should have been.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Morichan Avatar
26 months ago
I have been using this feature over a month now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deguello Avatar
26 months ago

As someone who travels regularly from Europe to Brasil I cannot begin to describe how ingrained whatsapp is in (my part of) Brasil. EVERYTHING goes through it. They call it "Zappy". If I want a meeting with the bank manager, I schedule it with a Zappy. If I want beer delivery at home, Zappy. If I want to send my accountant or Lawyers some files, Zappy. Taxi? Zappy. Covid test? Zappy. Even TV commercials sometimes reference a "Zappy" contact for orders, support and information. This voice note feature is the most used... and I absolutely hate it.
My written Spanish is so much better than my spoken Spanish with my egregious accent that I wish I could like this twice.

Man, I’m trying, but please let me just type.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dmitry Vlasenko Avatar
26 months ago

WhatsApp is what iMessage should have been.
Telegram is what iMessage should have been.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...