WhatsApp on Thursday revealed significant improvements to voice messaging across Android and iOS. The update adds the ability to change the speed of audio playback, pause and resume recording, and more.
It also allows voice message playback to continue when users back out of a conversation to catch up with another. Users can look forward to seeing the changes “in the coming weeks,” WhatsApp said.
WhatsApp makes voice messaging a lot better
WhatsApp first added voice messaging back in 2013. It had a mission to keep things simple, and ensure that sending audio notes was just as fast — if not faster — than text messaging. And the feature has been a hit with users.
Today, more than 7 billion voice messages are sent every single day on WhatsApp — all of which are protected by end-to-end encryption. And in the coming weeks, the audio experience is going to get a lot better.
Faster playback, pause recording, and more
Here are the full list of changes and improvements on the way to Android and iOS:
- Out of chat playback: Users will be able to continue to listening to voice messages when they leave a conversation window — so long as they don’t close the WhatsApp app.
- Pause/resume recording: When composing a new voice message, users will be able to pause and resume recording for the first time, which will be handy when you get interrupted halfway through.
- Draft preview: Once you’re done recording, you’ll be able to preview your voice message before sending it. You can also scrap it and re-record it if you’re not happy with how it turned out.
- Remember playback: If you pause a voice message you’re listening to, WhatsApp will remember where you paused and let you continue where you left off later.
- Faster playback: Play messages at 1.5x or 2x speeds.
Coming soon
WhatsApp doesn’t have an exact release date for this update, but it said on Thursday that it will begin rolling out “in the coming weeks.”
