It has been known for days that WhatsApp works on incorporating reactions to its platform, with which users can express their feelings about the messages through emojis, without having to answer them.
First, a few days ago, the portal WABetaInfo released a screenshot of an informational message advising users to update WhatsApp in order to see the reactions. Now the same site publishes a new image showing how reactions to messages look on the platform:
This function is somewhat similar to the one already present in Facebook Messenger, where Reactions are visible to all members of the conversation and appear in a bubble below the message to which they correspond, along with the total number of reactions. This means that all members of the chat will be able to see who put what reaction.
In WhatsApp, as is currently the case in Messenger, the reactions will not be limited to the basic ones of I like, I love it, it amuses me, it surprises me, it saddens me and it makes me angry, but the user will be able to choose among all the available emojis the one that best represents their reactionn.
Although the image published as an example of this new feature in development is a screenshot of the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS, the reactions will also be available in the Android version and is expected to arrive later for the desktop version as well.
In addition to the reactions, WhatsApp will also have a redesign in the conversation bubbles, which will have a more rounded and modern style.
These are some of the changes and improvements that WhatsApp has prepared for its next versions. For now, what you can already try is the new function to listen to voice messages before sending them, which is available in update 2.21.170.15 of the beta.
For the reactions and the new design of the bubbles, at the moment there is no specific date, but we will surely have more information about it soon.