WhatsApp has announced a fresh bundle of features ahead of the holiday season, introducing new tools across calls, chats, and status updates aimed at making conversations smoother, faster and more expressive for its global user base.
Missed Call Messages And Smarter Calling Tools
According to a blog by the messaging service, one of the biggest additions is missed call messages, allowing users to quickly leave a voice or video note when a call goes unanswered. The feature, available depending on the type of call, is intended to replace traditional voicemail and make catching up more seamless during the busy festive period.
WhatsApp is also enhancing voice chats with real-time reactions, letting participants send quick acknowledgements, like a celebratory "cheers", without interrupting the discussion. In group video calls, a new speaker spotlight feature will now automatically highlight the active speaker, helping users follow conversations more easily.
Chat Upgrades With Meta AI
The platform is taking a major leap in AI capabilities by integrating new image generation models from Midjourney and Flux. Users will now see significantly improved quality when creating custom images, including holiday greetings, directly through Meta AI on WhatsApp.
Another notable update is AI-powered photo animation, which can turn any static image into a short video for sharing in chats or on status.
On desktop, WhatsApp is introducing a new media tab that consolidates all media, documents, and links across conversations, making it easier for Mac, Windows and Web users to search and manage files. The app has also refined link previews to reduce clutter from long URLs.
Status & Channel Engagement Tools
For Status, WhatsApp is rolling out new stickers, including interactive designs, music lyric templates and question prompts to boost engagement. Users can now post queries that viewers can respond to directly on their Status.
Additionally, Channel admins can now ask real-time questions to followers, giving broadcasters more tools to interact and gather feedback.
With these updates, WhatsApp continues to expand its messaging ecosystem as users head into one of the busiest communication seasons of the year.
