Discovered in the latest beta releases for Android and iOS, WhatsApp is developing a major visual overhaul for its voice note player, introducing a new design concept known as “Liquid Glass” (via WABetaInfo).
The updated interface is designed to make the app feel more responsive and high-end. In the current version of WhatsApp, when you play a voice note, you see a simple progress bar or a static waveform. The Liquid Glass interface replaces this with a dynamic, translucent overlay that appears to “flow” across the message bubble as the audio plays.
This translucent effect uses real-time blurring, allowing the background colours of your chat wallpaper to peek through the player. Industry experts suggest this is part of a broader effort by Meta to unify the design aesthetics across Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, leaning into more glass-morphic elements that are popular in modern operating systems.
Beyond just looking better, the Liquid Glass interface brings functional improvements to how users interact with audio. The playback controls, such as the play/pause button and the playback speed toggle (1x, 1.5x, 2x), are being redesigned to feel more integrated into the waveform.
One of the most requested features being bundled with this update is “Precision Scrubbing.” In the new Liquid Glass player, users can slide their finger across the fluid waveform to jump to a specific second in a long voice note with much higher accuracy. This is a major improvement for those who receive long audio messages and need to find a specific piece of information without listening to the entire clip again.
The Liquid Glass update also addresses visual fatigue. By making the interface more dynamic and less rigid, the app feels faster and more modern. It also allows WhatsApp to better compete with Telegram, which has long been praised for its superior animations and polished UI transitions.
As of now, the Liquid Glass interface is in the development phase. This means it is hidden within the code of the WhatsApp Beta and is not yet visible to all testers
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
