WhatsApp Starts Testing Darker Theme for iOS, Fixes Bugs on Desktop

WhatsApp has released a new beta version for iPhone users that brings a darker theme to better support iOS 15. The change comes a couple of months after WhatsApp introduced support for iOS 15 notifications, with Focus mode and displaying group and profile photos on the Notification Centre. Separately, WhatsApp has brought a new desktop release for beta testers that carries a list of bug fixes. The updated WhatsApp for Desktop fixes displaying of profile photos. WhatsApp Web is also likely to integrate the fix available to beta testers on desktops.

As reported by WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo, WhatsApp for iOS beta 22.7.0.76 is available with a darker theme. The update better matches with the UI elements of iOS 15.

WABetaInfo has shared a screenshot to show the difference where the toolbar at the bottom appears in a black colour — instead of being in a grey shade. The latter is available on the existing WhatsApp release, while the former is given in the latest beta release.

WhatsApp is testing a new darker theme for iOS
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

The update is also said to start showing profile photos in notifications for more beta testers. The experience was, though, initially released for some users publicly in January.

Further, the latest WhatsApp for iOS beta release is said to bring better compatibility with iOS 15 and bug fixes. The beta version is, however, recommended to be downloaded only for a secondary account and specifically for testing purposes.

WhatsApp for Desktop beta version 2.2211.3 has separately been released to fix the bugs available so far. One of the bugs was affecting profile and group photos that were not appearing on the chats screen.

WABetaInfo reports that the updated beta release has fixed that bug and is showing profile photos of both users and groups. The same fix is also said to be a part of the latest WhatsApp Desktop stable release as well as its Web client.

Earlier this week, WhatsApp reintroduced the ability to pause and resume voice message recordings for beta testers on Android. It was also spotted testing a Stickers tab on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app. WhatsApp recently also started rolling out its multi-device support for all users. It was initially released in November.