Messaging with any of the best texting apps is downright convenient compared to calling people, but texts often lack perceptible emotion. Thankfully, emoji have been around for a while now, alleviating this problem and helping the message recipients better understand tone and intention. Understandably, it is important we find the perfect emoji when composing texts, and WhatsApp is reworking its emoji keyboard to streamline the process for its colossal user base.
In April this year, we got a first look at WhatsApp’s redesigned emoji keyboard featuring a capsule at the top divided into three tabs for quick switching between emoji, GIFs and stickers. However, the implementation lacked an emoji category bar, perhaps because the keyboard was still in development and unavailable to the average beta tester.
Current WhatsApp emoji keyboard (1st image); In-development emoji keyboard spotted earlier (2nd); Current state of the new emoji keyboard (3rd)
WABetaInfo reports version 2.23.9.2 of WhatsApp, available on the Google Play Store, has some evidence of ongoing development of this emoji keyboard. The new keyboard design is still inaccessible to beta testers, but the emoji category selection bar seems to have made a comeback. However, instead of being top-aligned like in the current keyboard, the new layout places the emoji category bar at the bottom. The bar is essential if you want to save several minutes of scrolling through various other emoji in your quest for the perfect one.
The emoji category bar’s reappearance is no surprise. There’s a good chance it was unfinished when we reported on this feature in April. That said, the keyboard looks nearly complete now, and should be on its way to a larger pool of beta testers soon. With any luck, a stable release should be in the cards for later this year. Meanwhile, we are also tracking WhatsApp’s work on support for new animated emoji, which should make it even easier to express oneself.