WhatsApp has been going through multiple iterations in its "beta" channel, which gets distributed on the service's website, while its official Play Store version was stuck for several months on the same number. That changed in the past few days as WhatsApp has finally updated its Play Store listing to 2.12.250 with all of the goodies that we've been anxiously tracking over the past months. This means that all of your friends and relatives who never manually grabbed apks are now on the same page as you when it comes to WhatsApp's features.

First up, there are new emojis. This includes skin tone variations of many pre-existing emojis, which are accessible through a pop-up. There's also a new vulcan salute (Spock salute) gesture, the infamous middle finger, and a few LGBT-friendly emojis (boy-boy and girl-girl holding hands).

Skin tone emojis, spock and middle finger emoji, LGBT-friendly emojis

Next, there are all the new custom chat options. These include options to set specific tones and light colors for certain chats, choose a pop-up style, and mute the conversation for preset periods of time. You can also mark conversations as read and unread, and choose a lower data consumption rate for voice calls.

Custom chat notifications and mute

WhatsApp's changelog also mentions a few additions we hadn't noticed before, like new languages and a quick option to save or message a contact after receiving their card.

WHAT'S NEW

• Per chat custom notification settings and mute
• Mark chats as unread or read
• Added new emoji. You can also tap and hold on some emoji to choose a different color.
• When receiving a contact card, you can now quickly message or save the contact if they're on WhatsApp
• Lower the data usage used during WhatsApp calls in Settings > Chats and Calls
• Language support for Urdu and Bengali

It's worth noting that this version doesn't have Google Drive backups enabled yet, so the company doesn't seem ready to flip the switch on this feature for everyone. We'd already heard that it was on a slow rollout, so we may have to wait a little longer to see it hit the official Play Store channel.

If you've already installed WhatsApp, you should have received or be receiving the update soon. If not, you can grab the app from the widget below or APK Mirror.

WhatsApp Messenger Developer: WhatsApp LLC
Price: Free
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