A WhatsApp update deployed in beta greatly improves the user experience on tablets. Here, we are talking about a split view that is much more practical to use on a daily basis than a single-window overview.
Between a smartphone and a tablet, the biggest difference is in the screen size. Inevitably, with a much larger diagonal, tablets offer superior user comfort and a much larger display interface. As a developer, knowing how to adapt to it to offer the best user experience is therefore important.
This is exactly what WhatsApp plans to do in the near future. A new beta recently deployed on the Play Store makes it possible to discover a slightly revisited interface: it is here a question of a split view in two, exclusively for tablets, we learn WABetaInfo.
Dual view
The idea is simple: when you open a chat, said chat no longer occupies all of the space. Instead, the left side of the screen displays the traditional chat list, while the left side opens the chat you want to type in (example below).
This split view is practical in more ways than one: it allows you to write to a contact while simultaneously browsing the list of conversations. You don’t need to go back to access another exchange: everything is in front of your eyes at the same time. This organization also applies to the call interface.
Still in beta
Above all, it is reminiscent of certain layouts deployed on Samsung’s foldable smartphones. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, for example, offers this type of view for the phone settings, but also the Contacts application. Navigation is all the more fluid and simplified. You quickly get used to it.
At the moment, this small tweak is only available in beta. No doubt it will land for the general public in the coming months.
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