WhatsApp rolling out refreshed design for iOS and Android

WhatsApp on Thursday announced that it is officially releasing an update that introduces a refreshed design for both iOS and Android apps. Users will notice a new color palette and other changes that make the experience of using WhatsApp on both platforms more seamless.

WhatsApp introduces refreshed design

With the update, WhatsApp embraces the color green as the app’s accent color. As a result, things like notification badges and buttons will now appear in green. The change seems even more radical on Android, as the tab bar has been moved to the bottom of the screen, making the app more similar to the iPhone version.

For Dark Mode, WhatsApp says it changed the colors to provide higher contrast and darker tones to “reduce eye strain in low-light environments” as people wanted a “darker dark mode.” Icons and illustrations have also been updated with a more rounded and contoured style. The app has also received new animations and chat wallpapers.

At WhatsApp, our work shapes the way more than 2 billion people worldwide communicate every day. We take this role seriously, and we focus on the details to get it right for our users. We aim to create an app that not only works seamlessly, but also feels like a natural extension of your phone — allowing you to focus on the conversations that matter in your daily life. We believe success is achieved when our design enhances how people communicate on WhatsApp and empowers them to connect in new ways.  

Our design philosophy builds on our product principles of keeping WhatsApp simple, reliable and private. We filter these through a design lens to build intuitive and clear flows that work universally and help people connect, while protecting their privacy. We pay close attention to how people use their devices and design our user interface to complement their existing experience, so WhatsApp feels familiar and easy to navigate. If you know how to use your device, using WhatsApp should be easy. 

These changes have been under test with WhatsApp beta users for a while, but are now being rolled out to the public across the globe. Last month, WhatsApp updated its iOS app to introduce passkey support.

WhatsApp is available for free on the App Store. It requires an iPhone running iOS 12 or later. Make sure you update the app to get access to the latest features.

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