WhatsApp’s bottom navigation tab is now widely available on Android

WhatsApp is now making significant changes to the user interface of the app on Android smartphones. The Meta-owned messaging service announced that it has moved the four navigation tabs at the top of the screen to the bottom. The updated visual interface has been live on a beta version of the app for the past few months and is now available to all users. The new design will also allow users to easily switch between tabs while using the phone with one hand.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp announced the launch of a new bottom navigation bar on Android. The service posted an image of the old interface, which had four tabs above the chat list: Community, Chat, Status, and Calls. In the latest update, users will see these tabs moved to the bottom along with the icons, while the order may be rearranged.

This is one of the most notable changes to the WhatsApp interface for Android in a while, and it puts the main navigation tabs in the app within easy reach of your thumb – which is especially handy if you only have one hand. However, if you want to search for something, you still need to get to the top of the screen. WhatsApp for iOS also displays tabs at the bottom of the screen – the fifth tab is for the settings menu.

While the bottom navigation tab may finally be rolled out to users after months of testing on the beta channel, WhatsApp is busy developing more features that may come to the app in the future. The messaging service is reportedly developing the ability to make international payments through the app using India’s NPCI Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The messaging service is also working on adding new artificial intelligence features to the app. WhatsApp is working on a feature that will allow users to create stickers using artificial intelligence (AI) in the app to provide text prompts. Likewise, WhatsApp was recently spotted working on an AI-powered image editing feature, as well as the ability to ask Meta AI questions through the search bar on WhatsApp. These features are yet to be rolled out to WhatsApp stable and beta users.