A new WhatsApp update brings Material Design elements to millions of Android users, significantly improving the app interface based on Google's guidelines.
WhatsApp users have been waiting for this update for several months now, ever since the company said it has some neat treats en route. Just recently the popular WhatsApp messaging service got an update to include voice calling, and the latest version now brings Material Design to the table.
As a reminder, Google unveiled Material Design back in October of last year, when it announced Android 5.0 Lollipop - the last major version of its popular operating system. Material Design is basically a new UI philosophy for Android, bringing a smoother visual experience with fluid animations, enhanced colors, and a clean, modern and light look overall.
The new Material Design-based user interface (UI) for WhatsApp has been in beta for a good while now, but it's finally ready for all Android users. The latest version of the app is available as a free update through the Google Play store, and will bring some significant visual enhancements.
App developers have updated their applications to match the user interface of Material Design, and WhatsApp for Android is now finally on board for real, not just in beta.
The dark green theme can be seen all over the new version of WhatsApp, lending a calmer look overall, whether it's the main menu, calls, chats, or other. The icons from the "more" section in the top right menu of a conversation have now disappeared as well, listing only the actions you can take such as block, clear chat, email chat, or add shortcut (see image above).
The wallpaper looks better now as well, with calmer colors and enhanced design overall. The "last seen" status of a contact gets some improvements as well, now appearing as a static status on one line instead of the line wrap that previously appeared when the status was longer than the available space. The attachments menu (see image above) is now enhanced as well and seems to be loading faster than before.
To try it out for yourself, head over to the Google Play store and download the latest version of WhatsApp for Android at this link.
