WhatsApp aces the convenience aspect of messaging, and it stands out amongour favorite encrypted messaging appsfor features likepasskey supportand accessibility bits like voice messaging and support for multiple operating systems. However, we have struggled with poor feature parity across these OS-specific client apps. Developers are chipping away at this problem, because recent beta versions of the app reveal Android users could soon enjoy voice message transcription and longer video uploads in status updates.
WhatsApp’s linked devices feature still needs a lot of work
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Voice messagesare a fantastic alternative to texting, especially when you’re short on time, or if you’re in the middle of a meal with your hands soiled, or driving a vehicle. WhatsApp even allows varying the playback speed of voice messages to save you a few seconds if the sender is repetitive or slow. However, Voice message transcription support hasexisted on iOSfor close to a year now, but we haven’t seen anything similar on Android.
Things are changing with beta version 2.24.7.7, in which reputable app feature spotterAssembleDebug found lines of codesuggesting transcripts should show up for voice notes you receive. The feature will need 150MB of additional data, perhaps as a one-time download, and should be listed underSettings → Chats, just like it is on iOS. The code sleuth also suggests WhatsApp will use on-device speech-to-text conversion to ensure encryption remains uncompromised.
A limited rollout to beta testers should be right around the corner, but “Why would you want to read a voice message?” you might ask. You see,transcripts are handywhen you’re in quiet places like a library, or when you’re listening to music you just cannot pause. I also find reading texts more convenient than voice notes when I don’t have my headphones on me, just to ensure privacy.
The beta gets even better
Videos in status updates can run longer
Speaking of beta testers, Meta devs are actively testing another handy change to how status update sharing works in WhatsApp. After digging through beta version 2.24.7.6,WABetaInforeports a few testers are able to post one minute-long videos as their status update, up from the current 30-second limit. A screenshot reveals a long video is auto-trimmed at the one-minute mark when uploading it as a status update.
Since the app doesn’t automatically split a longer video into consecutive status updates like Instagram does with Stories, sharing longer clips can get cumbersome quickly. Once it rolls out widely, this change could reduce the legwork for sharing shorter clips, and you won’t need to manually split longer ones into many smaller clips. A wider beta rollout is also anticipated soon.
That said, there’s no word on the stable release timelines for these features and a lot of WhatsApp’s plans are still up in the air — we don’t know if the transcription will differ from iOS, and ifHD status update sharingwill be available for these longer one-minute clips, because the option seems absent in the screenshot.
