WhatsApp is rolling out a new message bubble design on iOS, giving chats a softer and cleaner appearance on iPhone and iPad. The updated bubbles have more rounded corners, while photos, videos, and GIFs appear without the usual borders around them.
WABetaInfo reports that the design is available to some beta testers using WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.29.10.70 through TestFlight. Some users on the stable App Store version may also see the changes as WhatsApp expands the rollout over the coming weeks.
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What changes in the new WhatsApp design
The new bubbles look closer to iMessage because they use a rounder shape and a less rigid outline. This design also matches the Liquid Glass changes that WhatsApp introduced across its chat interface last month.
Shared media now blends more naturally into conversations because WhatsApp removes the traditional bubble border around photos, videos, GIFs, and some links. Group chats and forwarded messages still show a small header above the media, so users can identify the sender or see that the content came from another chat.
WhatsApp has kept its message bubble design mostly unchanged for years, even after adding chat themes and other interface options. The latest update gives the chat screen a more polished look while keeping the existing layout familiar for regular users.
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