WhatsApp Update For Android Devices: What’s New?

The Android version of WhatsApp is finally catching up to its iOS counterpart with the release of the all-new update, version 2.18.280.

The latest version of WhatsApp for Android comes with the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode that’s long been available in the iOS app. Users of iOS devices have been granted access to the mode since January of this year.

The Facebook-owned company did not work on bringing the feature to the Android app until October when PiP was spotted in beta testing. This Monday, the mode is finally released from beta and is now rolling out with the new update that’s now live on the Google Play Store, according to First Post.

So what does the PiP mode do? Well, it basically lets users watch video content shared on the WhatsApp platform simultaneously browsing through their chats. The video is played in a small window that hovers over the chat. The feature works in both individual chats and group chats.

It’s important to note that PiP only supports videos shared from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Videos obtained from other sources won’t be accessible via this mode. Even video clips shared natively on the messaging app are not supported by this feature, as pointed out by Gadgets360.

There is no toggle or switch to turn on the PiP mode. The latest app update automatically enables it. When users share a link to a Facebook, Instagram or YouTube video, it is automatically transformed into a video card with a blurry thumbnail. Tapping on the thumbnail, would play the content in the small window.

The advantage of having PiP is that users can continuously communicate with each other while viewing a video shared on the instant messaging platform. What’s good about the feature is that the window can be resized or converted to full screen to match the preference of the user.

WhatsApp for Android version 2.18.280 is rolling out now and should arrive to all users in the coming days. Users who have enabled automatic updates don’t need to head to the Google Play Store to download the update. For users who want to manually update their app, they can check the availability of the update on Google Play.