Photo Credit: Jeandré Badenhorst | techTography
WhatsApp has never been in a rush to release any feature or conform to any norm immediately. Dark mode has finally been released in version 2.20.30 for iOS, along with a fantastic new search functionality and Haptic Touch features for iPhone XR and the entire 11 series.
Dark Mode
The whole world scrambled to release dark mode enabled apps for more low light viewing pleasure, not WhatsApp. It took its time fixing bugs, rather than spending time on a dark coloured theme, and that’s actually better, right?
You can now enjoy a dark experience on WhatsApp from beginning to end. It includes the splash screen that appears the moment you open the app, through to your chats tab, into your chats and settings.
Everything is dark, except for the peculiar “dirty” green used for the messages you sent. Personally not the biggest fan of that specific colour. Once you’ve updated, let me know what you think in the comments.
How to Activate
To activate dark mode in iOS, simply activate the iOS dark mode and WhatsApp will automatically switch off its lights. If your device sets dark mode automatically, WhatsApp will follow.
There is no way to independently switch WhatsApp to dark or light mode without enabling or disabling it system-wide. If you are still running iOS 12 or earlier, you’re out of luck. The mode only works with iOS 13.
For Android users, if you run Android 10 and newer, it works just as with iOS 13’s system-wide dark theme. For users running Android 9 and earlier, there will be a setting in the WhatsApp settings to enable or disable it. Don’t know why WhatsApp left the iOS users out of that equation though.
If you do have iOS 13, there are 3 methods to turn dark mode on and off.
1) Siri
Probably the easiest method would be to ask Siri by saying: “Turn on dark mode” or “Turn off dark mode”.
2) Control Centre
Swipe down from the top right corner on an iPhone X or newer or up from any older device to activate control centre. Then click on the circle icon that enables the system-wide dark theme.
3) Settings
Head over to the Settings App > Display & Brightness and tap on Dark to instantly enable the system-wide dark theme or set it to automatic to have it turned on at dusk and off at dawn.
Take a look at this video created by WhatsApp to spread the darkness.
Search Function
Users can now search using a targetted approach. When you tap on search at the top of the screen, you can either start searching for a word as you would normally do or you can select a specific category.
Once you selected a category, it immediately shows you all files and/or messages related to it and you can then type a search term to search within that category. All searches are ordered by month.
Photos, videos and GIFs will show the latest files you received.
Links will show a preview of the link together with the message, who sent it and the date. Documents will show the latest ones you received, who sent it and the date.
The Audio category will show you the latest voice notes and other audio files you received, the person who sent it or who you sent it too as well as the date.
Haptic and 3D Touch
Features that were earlier only accessible through 3D Touch that has been removed from the iPhone XR, 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are now accessible using Haptic Touch. It’s basically a long press with a short vibration and a fancy name.
Closing
There you have it. An exciting dark mode feature reducing eye strain in dark environments, a fantastic new targetted search function and more options available for devices without 3D Touch.
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Photo Credit: Jeandré Badenhorst | techTography
