WhatsApp Introduces New 'Swipe to Reply' Feature On Android

For a really long time now, iPhone users had a feature which allowed them to reply WhatsApp messages just by swiping the message to the right.

This feature is a really convienent tool that makes chatting much more easier and for a long time I had envied iPhone users but my ego as a proud Android user wouldn't let me show it.

While checking for available app updates on playstore, I noticed that whatsapp had a new update(it always does) and I installed it.

After it was updated, I was chatting with a friend and I quoted a message the old fashion way and there was a pop up saying 'You can now swipe on a message to reply I quickly tried it out and it worked perfectly (just the way it does on iPhones).

Guess the first thing I did....
I quickly went to one of my friends who's an Apple fanboy and showed off the new feature.

One thing I noticed though was that the old way of quoting messages don't seem to work as well as it used to but since it's a feature that's still in it's BETA state I'm sure there would be improvement in that aspect soon

Whatsapp Launches New WhatsApp Business App On Playstore

A new version of WhatsApp has hit the Google Play Store in some countries. The new app named WhatsApp Business is built to help small businesses communicate with their customers.

For now, the app is available for download to small business owners in the US, UK, Italy, Indonesia, and Mexico to register their business account. The registered account becomes a Confirmed Account once WhatsApp checks that the phone number details matches your business.

The app also contains profile space for details like a company email, address, website, and a description of your business, the app also includes “smart messaging” tools such as automatic replies to frequently asked questions, greeting messages, and customizable away messages for when you're not online.

WhatsApp Business also has a simple analytics tool that shows business owners which messages are the most effective. It is also compatible with WhatsApp Web, so you can check your messages and respond via a PC.

It also gives users have the option of registering a landline number. This is different from the regular Whatsapp App which only allows you to use one mobile number.

The business account does not stop you from using the regular WhatsApp App as users can use both apps on the same phone.
If you're in one of the five selected countries, you can test out the new WhatsApp Business app by clicking the Play below.

GET WHATSAPP BUSINESS AT PLAY STORE

For the rest of the world, WhatsApp said in a blog post that the app will roll out around the world “in the coming weeks”.

New Whatsapp Update Allows You To Demote Admins

I recently wrote a post saying that Whatsapp was going to give group admins more powers, and just as I said, the features are currently live on the new beta update of whatsapp.

On the new whatsapp beta version which was just released is a new feature tagged "Demote as Admin" which allows an admin to sack(demote) another admin from his/her administrative duties without having to remove the person from the group first.

Before the arrival of this feature, whenever an admin wanted to relieve his fellow admin of his duties, he'd have to first remove the person from the group then add them back as an ordinary participant.
However, with the new you save yourself the stress/trouble of having to remove the person then add them back.

If you are currently a beta tester on whatsapp, check to see if the new feature is available on your app. If it isn't update your app to the latest beta version.

Whatsapp To Stop Working On These Platforms Come December 31st

According to a blog post on WhatsApp blog, WhatsApp will stop working on some smartphones and mobile platforms in the new year(2018).

From 1 January 2018, the messenger app won’t work on any device running Windows Phone 8.0 (or older versions of the operating system), BlackBerry OS or BlackBerry 10.

According to whatsApp, “When we started WhatsApp in 2009, people’s use of mobile devices looked very different from today. The Apple App Store was only a few months old. About 70 percent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia,” it reads.

“Mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft – which account for 99.5 percent of sales today – were on less than 25 percent of mobile devices sold at the time.”

See Also: Whatsapp End Support For Blackberry Devices, Some Windows And Others

The platforms that are being unsupported are unpopular, and have been for some time. The company ended support for Nokia Symbian S60 devices back in June.

They are also planning to stop support for Nokia S40 devices on 31 December 2018 and phones running Android versions 2.3.7(GingerBread) and older on 1 February 2020.
Although these devices are still supported, WhatsApp is no longer actively developing for them, which means some features could stop functioning at any moment.

“While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” the company's blog post said..

“This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.

“If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone."

I don't think this would affect a lot people because I doubt people still use the targeted devices.

Upcoming WhatsApp Updates Will Give Specialized Powers To Group Admins

Whatsapp has seen countless updates since coming under the management of Facebook, One of the coolest being the recently added recall/delete message feature that allows you to delete already sent messages.

Now, what we are expecting to see an update which gives group admins specialized powers, though no specific time has been stated for the release of this update.

Admin Super Powers: The update will prevent the group creator from being deleted from the group by other administrators. This will help the group creator to have the total control of the group.

Subject Modification: The administrators will be able to choose if other participants can change the subject of the group,group icon and its description, as shown below in this Android screenshot:

Chat Restriction in Groups: Administrators will be able to disable the chat features in the group: that means all participants won’t be able to send text messages, images, videos, GIFs, documents or voice messages to the group. They won't be able to do anything in the group, and a notification will appear in the chat sayong “only admin can send messages to this group”

Only admins will be able to interact within the group while other participants can only read messages but won’t be able to reply. This is necessary if admin want to pass an info or a training is going on in the group.

However, all this features have already been seen on Telegram.
I think Whatsapp needs to increase its maximum group limit too, 256 is quite inadequate.

New WhatsApp Update Allows You To Watch YouTube Directly On WhatsApp

A lot of new updates have been added on WhatsApp since coming under the management of Mark Zuckerberg and we are still expecting more features.

The most recent added features was the ability to transfer any files to your WhatsApp contacts.

Now, a new update that has been added to WhatsApp is the ability to watch Youtube videos directly on your WhatsApp instead of redirecting to Youtube app.

Though this feature is still under development but it is available for iOS users… Android users coming soon