Whatsapp rocks when it comes to usability and sucks when it comes to UI. While its no major refresh, Whatsapp has made tweaks to meet the new design guidelines from Google. They’re a little late to adopt the changes. but then we all know how long it took them to update the app for anything at all.
So whats new? The update is a beta, version 2.9.2239, and its not on Google Play yet, the Play Store still has 2.9.1547. You have to grab the apk straight from the Whatsapp website and sideload it. The big change is that the app now follows Googles Holo guidelines. The menu bar on top is flat, the message bubbles are flat too and the text input field has been redone. The emoticons button has moved down next to the text box from the top right corner, handier on big screen phones. Fonts look better, image previews in chats are bigger and there are better buttons for playing videos and audio clips. You can also change the chat wallpaper from the chat window now without digging into settings. Notifications are expandable too.
Its still a beta so expect a few bugs. If you cant wait for the Play Store update, head to whatsapp.com and download it. We’re installing it now and will let you know how it goes. Stay tuned !!
Partly reconstructed with AI. This post’s full text was lost when the site went offline. Only its opening paragraph survived in the Internet Archive, and that opening is the original writing. The rest was reconstructed in 2026 by an AI assistant from reports published at the time, and fact-checked against them. Sources used: androidpolice.com, engadget.com, gizbot.com, emplify.blogspot.com, gadgetsboy.co.uk.
