WhatsApp is one of the most popular encrypted messaging apps on the Play Store, but most of its recent updates have been playing catch-up with rival apps like Telegram and Signal. As a result, the design department has slowly drifted into a state of neglect. Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is finally giving the app's UI some love, with Material Design 3 switches spotted in development.
In today’s era of card-style UIs, WhatsApp still lacks prominent Material Design elements. We recently spotted the company developing a new Settings page, and it looks ever so slightly modern. However, WABetaInfo reports the latest Android app beta v2.23.10.6 gives us our first look at new Material You toggles for WhatsApp.
A preview of the new switch design in development for WhatsApp (Source: WABetaInfo)
These toggles are a pleasant, albeit minor change. They aren’t even available to beta testers yet, but are almost certainly in the pipeline for a future version update. Also, the design could see a few minor tweaks and adjustments before a public debut.
When turned off, the switch has a light gray outline and indicator. When toggled on, the outline disappears, and the switch's body is filled in with WhatsApp’s signature green color, while the toggle itself turns dark gray. The visual appearance could vary slightly when light mode is enabled.
WhatsApp doesn’t change the UI drastically or frequently, perhaps to ensure the look stays familiar. However, the new toggles will help the app gain a contemporary look. Hopefully, we see other prominent Material Design 3 elements in the app.