What’s New on Whatsapp: Send Up to 100 Images and Audio Transcription Feature

Meta-owned Whatsapp has become an integral part of how we communicate whether it’s through text, photos, video calls, and more. As with any app, there are always improvements and new features to look forward to and these are the latest from the instant messaging app:

Send up to 100 photos at a time

After a trip out with some friends or a holiday with your partner, ever find yourself struggling to send photos on the app in batches of 30 due to limitations on the app? Thankfully, Whatsapp has submitted a new update through the TestFlight beta Program, which brings the version up to 23.3.075. Through the new update, users can send up to 100 photos in one go. Currently, the feature is being released to Android and iOS beta testers, with plans to release it to more users later.

To try out if this works for you yet, open the media picker in your Whatsapp application and see if you can select more than 30 media. We tried it out ourselves but sadly it still says: ‘Maximum 30 items, please!’

Desktop Users Will Be Able to Share Images in Original Quality

This feature is still under development, but an issue that users face is the loss of image quality when a photo is transferred from one device to another. This upcoming new feature will enable Whatsapp desktop users to share photos and videos in their original quality and preserve their resolution and clarity at the same time. Those with storage space issues will still be able to share photos using the standard compression method.

Audio Transcription Feature

Telegram Premium Subscribers may already enjoy audio and video transcription, although it literally comes with a price. This is a great feature for users who find it troublesome to listen to lengthy voice notes. Now, the beta version of WhatsApp for iPhone is introducing a transcription feature for audio messages. The app will identify what was said in the message to transform the audio content into text.

However, when no words are identified or when the voice message is in a language other than the language set for transcriptions, this feature won’t work. It is also unclear when this feature will come to the Android app.

New Status Updates

Like Instagram stories, Whatsapp also has its Status feature that allows users to share updates that disappear after 24 hours. Here’s what you should know:

• Private Audience Selector

You now have the flexibility to update your privacy settings per status so you can choose who views your status each time you update it. Your most recent audience selection will then be saved and used as the default for your next status.

• Voice Status

If you’re someone who feels more comfortable sending voice notes than typing long texts, this is the Status update for you. Users will now have the ability to record and share voice messages for up to 30 seconds on WhatsApp status, which makes their updates feel more personal.

• Status Reactions

Like Facebook and Instagram, this is a quick and easy way to respond to status updates from your friends and close contact. Previously, Whatsapp allowed its users to reply with text, voice messages, stickers, and more. Now, you can quickly reply to any status by swiping up and tapping on one of the eight emojis listed.

• Status Profile Rings for New Updates

There is a new status profile ring that can be seen around your contact’s profile picture whenever they share a status update. This will also be visible in chat lists, group participant lists, and contact info.

• Link Previews on Status

Now when you post a link on your status, you’ll automatically see a visual preview of the link content, just like when you send a message. This will make statuses look better and give contacts a better idea of what the link is before they click on it.

The Status updates have started rolling out to users globally and will be available to all users in the coming weeks.

Image credit: Dima Solomin on Unsplash