Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta has been announced by Nothing for all of its smartphones, including the CMF Phone 1 from its sub-brand. Nothing OS 3.0 is all set to release in December later this year and ahead of the general release, the brand is running an Open Beta program to iron out any bugs from the software on the basis of feedback received from users.
Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta: Rollout Timeline
As announced on Nothing Community, the Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta is now available for the Nothing Phone (2a). The rollout timeline for all Nothing and CMF devices is as follows:
Phone (2): November 2024
Phone (1): December 2024
Phone (2a) Plus: December 2024
CMF Phone 1: December 2024
Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta: What’s New?
As for the full changelog of what’s new in the update, it’s as follows:
Lock screen
New lock screen customisation page. Access by long-pressing the lock screen.
Upgraded clock faces. Choose your favourite style.
Expanded widget space, allowing you to place more widgets on your lock screen.
Smart Drawer
Added AI-powered Smart Drawer feature to automatically categorise your apps into folders. For better organisation and easy access.
For ultimate convenience, you can PIN your favourite apps to the top of the App drawer. No scrolling required.
Quick Settings
Reconsidered Quick Settings design with an optimised editing experience.
Enhanced widget library design.
Updated visuals in Settings including better Network & Internet and Bluetooth options.
Camera improvements
Faster camera launch speed under the Camera Widget.
Reduced HDR scene processing time.
Optimised portrait effects by fine-tuning blur intensity based on face size.
Boosted camera performance in low-light environments.
Improved zoom slider display.
Enhanced pop-up view
Movable pop-up view for cleaner and more productive multi-tasking.
Easily resize the pop-up view by dragging the bottom corners.
Pin the pop-up view on the screen EDGE for quick access.
View information without leaving your current app. Simply swipe down on incoming notifications to enter the pop-up view. Enable via Settings > System > Pop-up view.
New fingerprint animation with signature dot matrix styling.
Other improvements
Added support for auto-archive function to automatically free up storage space without removing apps or data from your device.
Partial screen sharing for more efficient and secure screen recording. Record just an app window rather than the entire screen.
Updated setup wizard to version 3.0 for the smoothest introduction to Nothing OS.
Enabled predictive back animations for apps that have opted in.
We have already tested out these changes on our unit of the Nothing Phone (2a) running on Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta, so do check that out before installing the latest software version from the UK-based brand.
Carl Pei founded Nothing in 2021, and the brand has been consistently experimenting with design and user interface. While some of these experiments have been well-received by consumers, others have not. Today, I want to discuss Nothing OS, which is a feature that retains the core of Stock Android but adds a custom skin with essential customization features. Now, Nothing is introducing Nothing OS 3.0, which completely overhauls the software’s design and incorporates Nothing’s signature elements, including the dot matrix font that the company has used since its beginning. The first public beta of Nothing OS 3.0 is now available for the Nothing Phone (2a), and I’ll provide an overview of this new software version from Nothing, which is based on Android 15.
Starting off with the home screen, not a lot has changed in terms of the user interface, except for the Widgets tray, which has been completely redesigned. The new widgets tray is now separated in two pages, where the first page shows all the first-party widgets by Nothing while the second one shows the widgets from third-party apps. The design of Nothing’s own widget previews has also changed in Nothing OS 3.0, with an off-centre preview, along with the icon of the app the widget is from, placed at the top-left corner of the widget.
The next major change you’ll notice is the reworked quick settings panel which completely deviates from the Stock Android quick settings panel we see in Pixel devices and the previous versions of Nothing OS. The huge pill-shaped tiles have now been replaced with regular round icons of quick settings, where each can be resized as well. When expanded, the quick setting for ring mode acts as a slider to toggle between ring, vibrate, and silent modes, which is quite a unique implementation.
Instead of the six tiles earlier, you can now place up to eight tiles when non-expanded and see up to sixteen when the panel is expanded further. Further, the colour scheme of the quick settings panel has also been redesigned in Nothing OS 3.0, wherein in light mode, it is completely white and in dark mode, the dark grey and black colours take over. This is unlike the previous implementation, in which only the bottom half of the notifications panel changed its colour to dark and light modes.
Next, the new smart app drawer in Nothing OS 3.0 is identical to that of iOS’ app drawer. It intelligently groups your apps into various categories. The smart app drawer is a neat addition, but we felt it still requires some improvement to categorize apps better. Apps like Samsung Internet were placed under the Social category, whereas they should have been under the utility category, similar to Chrome. Additionally, in the default app drawer, you can now pin apps in the top row for quick access to your choice of apps, such as the ones you use the most but don’t want on the home screen.
The Settings app is now well put together in Nothing OS 3.0 with better categorisation. Network settings have been grouped, followed by customisation, system settings, etc. The header fonts across the Settings, where the dot matrix font was used earlier, have also been replaced with a new Roboto font.
Then, in Settings, you can also find a new Device Diagnostics option where you can check the health of various device components, such as the battery, charging cycle count, display test, storage test, and touch test. Battery health isn’t specified in terms of percentage but only described in text, such as showing Battery health as “Good” in my case.
Some Android 15 features have also been implemented, such as the predictive back animation, where you can see where the back gesture will take you when you trigger it. While we couldn’t find the Private Space feature like in the Android 15 beta on Pixel devices, you can still hide apps from the app drawer by swiping towards the right in the app drawer. Other Android 15 features that are a part of the update include auto App archiving, and partial screen recording.
Lock screen customisation is another new aspect Nothing has worked on in Nothing OS 3.0. Once you tap and hold on the lock screen, a new “Customise Lock Screen” button appears at the bottom. Tapping on it takes you to the screen where you can choose and customise the lock screen shortcuts at the two bottom corners, and choose from five new clock styles. I would have also liked it if these same settings were accessible from the Lock screen section in the Settings app, but unfortunately, you can’t. Further, you can now “Expand Widget area” on the lock screen that hides the clock face and gives widgets the front seat.
All these clock styles have been designed to appear at the top of the lock screen, and the previous design, where the dot matrix clock was positioned in the center, has been scrapped altogether. The new fonts for clocks, however, look better and more appealing than the previous one.
Moreover, the clock style you choose also carries over to the Always-on display so there’s some level of AOD customisation, too. There’s also a new dot matrix-inspired fingerprint animation, which replaces the ordinary-looking circle animation we were used to seeing in previous versions of Nothing OS.
Other user interface elements, such as the Glyph lighting features and their Settings UI, the home screen customisation UI and features, the camera app, etc., remain unchanged from previous versions.
Overall, the animations of closing and opening apps remain identical. System fluidity also looks similar, if not better. I could notice some bugs as well, such as the flickering of the lock screen when AOD triggers, the inconsistent unlocking animation when using the fingerprint to unlock, and some frame drops in the user interface. Because it’s a beta build, these bugs are expected and should be ironed out in future releases.
Future releases should also bring the new Gallery app Nothing has teased, as it isn’t a part of the first public beta. The new charging animation that was shown in the launch video is also not yet available.
What I’d also like to see in future releases is some more options I am used to in other Android skins, like double-tap on the lock screen to wake up the screen, which would add further value to the software.
Overall, I am quite impressed with Nothing’s effort in Nothing OS 3.0 as it clearly shows the brand’s aim to distinguish its software from the other players. As of now, it looks like a step in the right direction.
The upcoming Chipset from MediaTek, dubbed MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC, will have support for multimodal Gemini Nano AI model by Google, as confirmed by the chipmaker. The Dimensity 9400 is all set to launch tomorrow, October 9, while devices powered by it should also come later this month.
MediaTek announced that Dimensity Platforms are now optimised to support Google’s Gemini Nano with new multimodal capabilities. This includes the upcoming Dimensity 9400 flagship mobile chipset set to launch this month and other Generative AI-enabled chipsets. “The upcoming Dimensity 9400 features a new 8th generation NPU with hardware acceleration for text, image, and speech”, said MediaTek in a blog post.
“MediaTek’s partnership with Google highlights a shared vision for bringing Generative AI experiences across the Android ecosystem, and is a big step forward in the advancement of complex AI models running on-device,” added MediaTek. By enabling multimodal models, MediaTek says that users will be able to take images and receive detailed descriptions of what’s been captured.
Gemini Nano is Google’s AI model optimised for smartphones and other devices, allowing them to run on-device multimodal generative AI applications with or a data without network, such as Google’s Circle to Search feature, which expanded to the Xiaomi 14T series and the Xiaomi MIX Flip recently.
As for the upcoming MediaTek chip, details about it have leaked multiple times before, with the latest leak suggesting that the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC reportedly delivers a noticeable 86% better performance over Apple’s A18 Pro chip found in its latest iPhone 16 Pro models.
Foldable smartphones, with their futuristic designs and multi-functionality, are marketed as the next evolution in mobile technology. However, despite the buzz surrounding them, I remain unconvinced about their practicality and appeal, at least for the next few years, due to my own personal experience with a Galaxy Z Flip 4 from Samsung and also because of the experiences of people around me owning a foldable.
One of the biggest issues in foldable, to date, is durability. No matter the IP rating of these foldables, and even if they haven’t been near water, the display is likely to fail at some point during their lifetime, something my experience tells me.
Samsung has been making foldables and commercially selling them since 2019 and the brand has always tried to perfect the process of creating a foldable. Despite those measures being adopted, my Galaxy Z Flip 4 died about a year ago in September 2023, shortly after it came out of its warranty period in August 2022, and all of it began happening after an update. The device met a gradual demise, starting with the display suddenly glitching, turning green and flickering uncontrollably.
The final nail in the coffin was when the device would just shut down as soon as it got folded. The Samsung service centre handed me over a bill of around Rs 33,000 to completely replace the inner foldable display because it was out of warranty, and despite telling them that the device hadn’t been near water or hadn’t fell even once which they could see as the device didn’t have any damage apart from minor wear and tear whose cause was the case I was using with the device.
Fortunately, I got it repaired from another Samsung service center, where I personally knew an employee who had to merely replace a part inside the device, which they referred to as “Flex cable. ” This somehow also solved the device’s wireless charging problem, which had also stopped working. What did it cost? Rs 2,000. Yes, you heard that right.
After an official repair, the device worked well for about five months. Then, the screen protector began to show bubbles within the area of the crease, and before I could get it replaced, the display died once again. This time, it was the display that was faulty, not the cable that got repaired earlier, even though the device didn’t fall or get wet once after the repair. A bill of Rs 33,000 again stood on top of my head.
Now, the same device is sitting as a paperweight in my drawer, as I chose not to get it repaired and instead get a OnePlus Nord 4, which actually cost me the same as the display repair cost of the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
As if that wasn’t enough, two of my relatives have had the exact same issue with their Samsung foldable, all within the last two months. Coincidentally, both of them also had a Galaxy Z Flip 4.
While I definitely liked the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s design, note that even my Flip 4 worked without any issues for a year before showing signs of struggle. In other words, I still cannot guarantee the Z Flip 6 would work for years because I haven’t used it enough. In addition, Samsung promises the device 7 years of OS updates but my experiences make me think, will it even last that long?
My bitter experiences with Samsung’s foldable make me wonder if a brand that has been selling foldables for six straight years hasn’t been able to perfect the device. Then how can I trust newer entrants in the space?
Samsung definitely makes some of the best Galaxy slab-style flagships under its S-series, and I have said time and again that their Galaxy S23 Ultra has been treating me well for the past 1.5 years but unfortunately I cannot say the same yet for its foldables.
Although brands have significantly improved hinge mechanisms and display technology, foldable phones are still prone to wear and tear much faster than their traditional counterparts. The folding screens, made from plastic polymers or ultra-thin glass, remain more susceptible to scratches and dents. Given the premium prices of these devices, consumers should expect sturdier build quality, which foldables have yet to consistently deliver.
Price is another sticking point. Foldable smartphones are considerably more expensive than conventional high-end phones, often costing upward of Rs 1,00,000. While the dual-screen feature may provide a unique experience, it doesn’t justify the steep price tag for most users, especially when the same performance can be achieved from standard flagship devices.
Brands like Tecno, Motorola, and Infinix are trying to bring down those prices but if durability and affordability of repairs is an issue, is even the lower price for a foldable phone worth it? This could be the same reason a brand like Apple hasn’t tapped into the foldable smartphones space yet while most other brands have already done so.
Until these devices become more durable, I won’t be making the switch and I feel it would take years for brands to reach that standard.
Stay updated on the latest smartwatch releases in India with our detailed guide, featuring the newest offerings from renowned brands like Itel, BoAt, Noise, and more. We also have an article listing all the smartwatch launches for last month. Below, you can explore the most recent smartwatches launched and stay informed as of October 2024.
BoAt Lunar Discovery
The boAt Lunar Discovery Smartwatch is now available for Rs 1,099 on boAt-lifestyle.com, Flipkart, Amazon, and Myntra in Active Black, Brown, Active Blue, Cherry Blossom, Mint Green and Metal Black colours. Its features include:
1.39-inch HD display, 240 x 240 pixels display, DIY Watch Face studio
Heart rate, SpO2, energy scores, and sleep monitoring
Integration with fitness apps like Strava, Google Fit, and Apple Health
Emergency SOS, notification alerts, quick replies, DND mode, camera and music control, weather updates, live scores, custom reminders, QR tray
Up to 7-day runtime
NoiseFit Diva 2
The NoiseFit Diva 2 is available in five variants: Rose Pink, Silver Blue, Classic Black, Rose Link, and Black Link. The Rose Pink, Silver Blue, and Classic Black variants will be available at a launch price of Rs 4,499, while the Rose Link and Black Link variants will be available at a launch price of Rs 4,999. The smartwatch is available exclusively on gonoise.com starting today, 24th October 2024, and will be available on Amazon, Flipkart, andMyntra starting 29th October 2024. Its features include:
1.43-inch AMOLED Display, 460 x 460 pixels resolution, 600 nits brightness, 100+ watch faces, Always-on display support
Metal build
Advanced Female Health Suite: Improved Female Cycle Tracking, Advanced Cycle Analysis, Phased-Specific Tips, and Detailed Cycle Calendar
The Garmin Fenix 8 series smartwatches starts at Rs 86,990 and come with a two-year warranty. They’re available from premium stores and the Garmin India website. Their features include:
Morning Report, HRV Status, Pulse Ox Sensor for SpO2 measurement, Body Battery Monitoring, Women’s Health Tracking
Endurance Score, Visual race predictor, Grade-Adjusted Pace, ClimbPro, Hill score, training status, daily suggested workouts, Garmin Pay
10ATM rated
Huawei Watch GT 5
The Huawei Watch GT 5 is priced at Rs 18,999 in India and buyers can avail discounts of up to Rs 4,500 through bank offers and coupons during the pre-booking period. The smartwatch comes with a warranty of 12 months and will be available for purchase on Flipkart starting October 20. Its features include:
46mm for men, 41mm model for women
1.43-inch AMOLED Display (46mm), 1.32-inch AMOLED display (41mm), 466 x 466 pixels display resolution, 352 PPI (46mm), 326 PPI (41mm)
Starting at a price of Rs 2,499, the boAt Ultima Regal comes in a range of colors including Active Black, Steel Black, Cool Grey, Sapphire Blue, and Cherry Blossom. It is available on boAt-lifestyle.com, Flipkart, and Amazon with features like:
2.01″ AMOLED display, AOD support, 466 x 466 pixels resolution, up to 1000 nits of brightness, 100+ Watch Faces
Functional crown
Bluetooth Calling
100+ Sports modes
Heart rate, SpO2, Energy Score, Stress, Sleep, and Daily Activity Tracker
Crest App support
Camera, Music Control, Notification Alerts, DND Mode, Emergency SOS, Find My Phone, and more
Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy A16 5G in France, and it is the first Galaxy A-series smartphone to have support for up to six Android OS updates and six years of security patches. The Galaxy A16 5G also sports a Super AMOLED display, triple-camera sensor at the rear, and more.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G: Price, Availability
Galaxy A16 5G is available in Midnight Blue, Turquoise, and Gray colours. The device is listed for €249 (approx Rs 23,000) for the 4GB + 128GB trim on Samsung France website. The device is also expected to step foot in India before the end of October.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G: Specifications
The Galaxy A16 5G has a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (2,340 x 1,080 pixels) Super AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. An octa-core Exynos 1330 SoC powers the phone. However, the Indian model is expected to use the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip. It comes with a built-in storage of 128GB, which can be expanded to 1TB with a microSD card. There’s support for 4GB RAM.
The phone comes with One UI 6.1 pre-loaded, which is based on Android 14. The device is set to receive six years of Android OS updates along with security patches as well.
The triple camera setup on the back comprises of a 50-megapixel f/1.8 primary sensor with 10x magnification, a 5-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens, and a 2-megapixel f/2.4 camera with a macro sensor. The front camera has a 13-megapixel sensor.
The A16 5G includes a 5,000mAh battery that supports 25W wired fast charging. It further gets a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for security. Connectivity options on the device includes Bluetooth v5.3, Wi-Fi 5, GPS, NFC, and a USB-C port for charging. The handset is also IP54 rated as well.
A new rumour suggests that the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G India launch will take place soon. The rumour suggests that the new A-series device will launch in the country later this month. Here’s everything we know about the device and its India launch so far.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G India launch is expected by mid-October, according to a report shared by The Tech Outlook. The device has already been leaked once before which showed us what it could look like and what specifications it could sport under the hood.
The publication didn’t share the exact date of launch, but if it’s indeed happening by mid-October, then we might soon see teasers from Samsung India on its social media handles. The brand hasn’t confirmed any of this information so far. There’s also a Galaxy A16 4G, which is in the works, but it’s unclear whether it would launch in India alongside the 5G model.
As per leaked specs, the Galaxy A16 5G will get a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC, while the LTE variant could pack the Exynos 1330 chipset. The phone is expected to sport 4GB RAM and 5,000mAh battery. On the back of the device, there’s a triple-camera module, expected to consist of a 50MP main sensor.
The Galaxy A16 4G will feature a 6.7-inch FHD+ display with 90Hz Refresh Rate support and an IP54 rating. The phone will come in 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB RAM options paired with 128GB onboard storage, while the 8GB RAM variant will also be available with 256GB storage.
Apart from all these specs, Samsung is expected to offer the smartphone 6 years of OS and security updates, a first for the brand’s Galaxy A-series devices. The previous generation A-series phones came with 4 years of OS and 5 years of security updates.
Samsung’s Galaxy S-series is renowned worldwide, and names like S24 Ultra or S25 Ultra are instantly associated with the brand. However, it seems a Chinese company is looking to challenge that. Itel is rumored to soon launch its own S25 series, likely featuring two models: the S25 and the S25 Ultra.
Passionategeekz has leaked the upcoming Itel S25 series, consisting of the Itel S25 and the Itel S25 Ultra. The source from which it acquired the smartphone renders hasn’t specified whether they are for the vanilla model or the Ultra model. According to the renders shared, the Itel S25 (or the S25 Ultra) will have a dual-rear camera setup housed inside a pill-shaped module. The rear of the device seems to be made of plastic but will have a matte finish.
As for the specs of the Itel S25 series, the devices will feature a 6.6″ HD+ display that supports 90Hz refresh rate and 120Hz on the Ultra model. The Itel S25 will launch with new UNISOC T620 LTE Chip that is based on Arm Cortex-A75 cores running at 2.2GHz and six Arm Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.8GHz. The chip uses the Arm Mali-G57 850MHz GPU. The chip under the hood of the S25 Ultra remains undisclosed as of now. The devices may get up to 8GB RAM and up to 256GB of storage.
The S25 will feature 50MP primary rear camera sensor while the Itel S25 Ultra will feature a 108MP AI rear camera setup. At the front there will be a 32MP selfie shooter on both the phones. The devices could be powered by a 5000 mAh battery and according to certifications it will carry 18W fast charge support on the base model. Charging speeds of S25 Ultra haven’t been revealed yet. The devices will ship with Android 14-based software out of the box.
Going by the specs, we can speculate that the devices will fall in the budget price category and if they launch in India, they could likely be priced below Rs 15,000. Launch timeline for the devices is yet to be specified by the brand.
Lava announced the launch of Agni 3 5G earlier last week at a price point matching that of the Realme P2 Pro 5G. Both the mid-rangers have a lot to offer but which one of them goes the extra mile to offer consumers something that’s more appealing and bang for the buck? Let’s find that out.
Price
Lava Agni 3 is available in India starting at Rs 20,999 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant without a charger. The same model with a charger is priced at Rs 22,999. An 8GB + 256GB storage option, which also includes a charger, retails for Rs 24,999.
The realme P2 Pro 5G comes in Parrot Green and Eagle Grey colours and is priced at Rs 21,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model, Rs 24,999 for the 12GB + 256GB model and Rs 27,999 for the 12GB + 512GB model.
Display
The Realme P2 Pro 5G gets a 6.7-inch curved OLED Display with an FHD+ Resolution and offers 10-bit colour depth, 2160Hz PWM dimming, 100% P3 colour gamut coverage, 120Hz refresh rate, 2000 nits peak brightness, Gorilla Glass 7i protection, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. It also has a 20000-level automatic brightness adjustment.
The Lava Agni 3 5G sports a 6.7-inch 1.5K resolution curved AMOLED screen with a 120 HzRefresh Rate and 1200 nits of peak brightness. The display comes with 1.07 billion colour depth, Widevine L1, and supports HDR 10+. There’s also a secondary display on the back that offers additional features and a unique touch to the device.
Both handsets have a curved AMOLED panel, but Lava’s display is slightly sharper and has a higher resolution, and that secondary display on the back is a plus point. On the other hand, Realme’s display gets stronger protection and higher brightness. It’s up to you whether you want a brighter and stronger panel or one with a higher resolution. In the real world, both of these are capable screens and shouldn’t disappoint you by any means.
Processor
The Agni 3 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300X SoC, coupled with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 onboard storage. On the other hand, Realme’s P2 Pro 5G packs Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, up to 12GB LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
The Agni 3 5G offers users a slightly better Chipset with faster RAM. On the other hand, Realme’s P2 Pro offers more RAM and storage options, which some users may prefer, but they are associated with higher costs as well. As for software, both of them run on Android 14, but we feel Realme UI is more polished than Lava’s Android skin, along with better and smoother animations across the user interface.
Battery and Cameras
For optics, the Lava Agni 3 5G packs a triple-rear camera unit, headlined by a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary lens with OIS, accompanied by an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor and an 8MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. For selfies, it features a 16-megapixel sensor at the front. It includes an in-display optical fingerprint scanner for Biometrics and a USB Type-C port for connectivity. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 66W charging.
The P2 Pro from Realme features a 50MP Sony LYT-600 f/1.8 main camera with OIS and an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor. On the front, the smartphone has a 32MP f/2.45 Sony selfie sensor. It also has a 5200mAh battery with support for 80W fast wired charging.
In the camera department, we’ll give the win to Agni 3 5G even though we haven’t used the two devices. That’s because of its additional 8MP telephoto sensor, which helps in better portraits and zoomed shots. On the other hand, Realme P2 Pro wins in the battery segment due to its bigger battery and faster charging speed.
Conclusion
Starting at Rs 20,999 but without a charger, Lava Agni 3 5G looks like a better choice over Realme P2 Pro if you specifically care about that telephoto sensor, the better processor, a secondary display, and the cheaper price tag. However, if you prioritize software, RAM, and battery life, the Realme P2 Pro is a stronger choice. As both devices excel in different areas, we’ll consider this comparison a tie.
WhatsApp Chat themes are now available in beta on iOS devices, where users can choose from over 22 distinct themes with 20 colours to choose from. The feature was first spotted to be in development months ago and is now making its way to WhatsApp Beta on iOS. A similar feature is also in works for WhatsApp on Android.
Spotted by feature tracker WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is rolling out a feature to set chat themes to specific conversations on iOS. With this new feature, users will have access to 22 distinct themes and 20 colors to choose from, significantly expanding the current customization options which is quite basic, and only includes options to change wallpapers and dim the chat background.
With the new WhatsApp Chat themes on iOS, users will get an option within the app settings to select a default chat theme that will be applied to all chats. In addition, for users who want more variety, they can choose different themes for specific conversations within the chat info screen, making it easier to differentiate between personal, work, and group chats.
WhatsApp will automatically assign a wallpaper based on the selected message colour to ensure the chat’s aesthetic matches the chosen theme. However, users have the option to select different wallpapers that better suit their preferences or the context of the conversation. This allows for chats with the same theme to still appear unique through different wallpaper choices.
It is worth noting that selecting a theme for a specific chat will not change how it appears on the recipient’s device unlike Instagram chat themes.
This feature is currently available to a limited number of users through the App Store and TestFlight app, including those participating in the WhatsApp beta program. It may or may not be available on your device at the moment, but considering the rollout has begun, it should reach more users within a few days or weeks.
