Category: General

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest General Retail news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

Vietnam continues to cut down on solar power
The solar power capacity planned by Vietnam for 2031-2045 is “too high” should be reduced to give space for wind power, the government says.

In a communiqué issued by the Government Office Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh said the capacity for solar power set in the Power Development Master Plan VIII for the 2021-2030 period with vision until 2045 was “too high.”

As proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Feb. 21, the national power capacity from now until 2030 would be 146,000 megawatts (MW), 9,000 MW less than the plan announced last November. By 2045, the planned capacity would be 352,000 MW.

In the 2031-2045 period, solar power will make up 25 percent of the total power capacity, the ministry said.

Deputy PM Thanh has commented that the proportion of solar power capacity should be lowered while that of offshore wind power should be increased.

According to state-owned Vietnam Electricity (EVN), as of 2021, Vietnam was among the top 10 countries with the highest solar power capacity at 16,504 MW, accounting for 2.3 percent worldwide.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted the first draft of the Power Development Master Plan VIII to the government last March. Since then the plan has been revised four times.

The ministry has asked that the plan’s implementation be deferred to the second quarter this year.
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February 28, 2022
Clubhouse gets a text chat feature for live audio rooms

Clubhouse, an audio chat app that debuted back in 2020 as an exclusive social network, is now adding a feature that seems to be contrary to its initial live audio chat purpose. 9to5Mac reports that there is a major change to the app coming, and will let users interact in voice rooms with text chat.

Clubhouse’s live audio chat was an idea that was quickly followed by competitors such as Twitter and Reddit. Now, the app is going to add a text chat option for people who don’t feel like they want to talk in the live audio chat rooms.

The app has announced in its official blog that there is a new feature that would allow everyone to be able to join live conversations, whether by voice or text. The new addition to Clubhouse’s feature set is dubbed “In-Room Chat”, and it works in a similar manner to Zoom or Skype. Basically, you will be able to chat within a live audio room.

The blog post reads that the feature will be useful to share jokes, request songs, or send emojis as reactions to what’s being talked about.

On top of that, voice room moderators will be able to delete chat messages. Basically, creators can appoint mods to keep an eye on the chat and delete messages if found inappropriate.

Understandably though, if the room has hundreds or thousands of people, the task of moderating chat comments will indeed prove to be quite difficult.

As a creator, you will also be able to delete chat messages at any moment, and even after the live session has ended. Additionally, you will be able to turn off the In-Room chat at any moment as well, if it proves to be unproductive or annoying.

Creators can choose to disable text chat when starting a new audio room if they don’t feel like having the feature. Additionally, the audience will also be able to report comments in the chat and provide feedback to moderators, so that the text chat is safe from trolls.

Another useful feature of the In-Room chat option is that you will be able to delete your comment during the live room or after the live room has ended.

Audio rooms that have chat enabled will appear with a dedicated icon at the bottom left of the screen. When the live audio ends, all messages sent during the session will be available for reading to anyone listening to the Replay of the session.

But that’s not all the new feature is expected to bring. The social network says that the text chat will give creators an option to make quick polls or ask questions in a live chat with multiple people.

The new In-Room Chat feature is currently rolling out with the latest version of the Clubhouse app from the App Store.

As you may probably know, initially, the Clubhouse app was available only on iOS and Android devices. In January though, Clubhouse expanded its platform to the web, and with this, anyone could listen to a live chat. However, it is still not possible to join from the web as a speaker during live audio sessions.

The option to listen to a live audio chat on Clubhouse from your desktop doesn’t require you to be logged in, so basically creators can share live audio chats with multiple people (only for listening on the web though, as we said, it is not possible to join to talk from your PC or Mac).
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February 28, 2022

Google Maps traffic triples in Ukraine

Google’s Transparency reports are designed to show “how the policies and actions of governments and corporations affect privacy, security, and access to information online.” And the policies and actions of the government in Russia, by invading Ukraine, are having an effect on the demand for information available online in the latter country.

Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise considering what is going on in Ukraine, but usage of Google Maps nearly tripled in that country over the last few days as many families have been taking to the roads trying to get over the Ukrainian border to Poland. Television reports show hours-long waits at service stations and heavy traffic on the roads leading to the border.

The impact on Google Maps usage in Ukraine can be seen graphically thanks to the charts tweeted by Damian Menscher, who is the Security Reliability Engineer responsible for DDoS defense at Google. Menscher tweeted a graph showing how the online traffic from inside Ukraine to Google Maps rose from a score of 55.239 on February 23rd, to 157.275 the very next day, peaking at 186.983 on February 24th.

That’s only half the story. Menscher included in his tweet a graph showing the declining traffic from Ukraine to Google Docs and Google Sheets as businesses are not running as usual in the country thanks to the invasion. Traffic to both sites from Ukraine declined by about 3x during the same time period.

Gmail, Search, and YouTube traffic from Ukraine did not significantly budge since the invasion. We’ve heard reports of Ukrainians seeking shelter in the subway watching YouTube to catch the latest news on the War and to pass the time. This might have propped up YouTube’s numbers inside the country since we’re sure that most Ukrainians are not interested in watching cat videos at this time.

February 28, 2022

Android users will love this hidden Gboard trick for sharing images

Android’s Gboard virtual keyboard is full of tricks and is quite versatile. You can even set it up to “float” all over the screen making it easier to type with one hand. There are several different ways you can set up Gboard and the one that this writer uses allows a long-press to type numbers and punctuation instead of having to open another keyboard.

There is another Gboard “trick” that the app has up its digital sleeves that is perfect for those attaching an image to an email or a message. Gboard will allow you to make a copy of the image and keep it stored on Gboard until you need to paste it. It certainly is not time-consuming and could save you time and effort in the future.

Ready? Here’s what you need to do to enable this feature. First, open Gboard by tapping on any text field that is open. On a Pixel, you can press the Google Search field at the bottom of the home screen. On other Android models, you can open the messages app and tap the text field as though you are going to send a new message.

If there is a clipboard icon at the top row of the keyboard, press on it. If not, go to the three-dot menu icon on the right of Gboard’s top row. Tap it. Now tap on the small toggle switch on the top row of Gboard to enable the feature.

The last step is to open the settings menu on Gboard. You can tap the settings “gear” icon on the top of the keyboard. Tap on Clipboard and you’ll see three toggle switches. Make sure that they are all toggled on.

Okay, so now your Gboard app is all set. When you see an image on your Android browser that you want to share via an email or message, long-press on it and select the “Copy image” option. If you own a Pixel and you want to copy an image from an Android app that doesn’t offer a built-in copy option for images (such as Google Photos and Twitter), you can open the phone’s Overview area and long-press on any image to get an option to copy it.

Next, open the messaging or email app you are using such as Gmail or Messages, and find the thread or message you want to place the image in. Gboard will usually show a recommended placement of the image in the top bar at the center of the email or message. This process will also work with screenshots.

If Gboard doesn’t show a recommended placement for your image, tap on the clipboard icon in Gboard to retrieve your saved image. Tap that image while in Gboard and it will show up as an attachment on your email or message.

If you find that you are sharing certain images often, you can pin them in Gboard and have them ready for a quick two-tap placement into your email and messages. To do this, copy the image or screenshot you want to share. Open Gboard by tapping on an open text field.

Now, tap on the clipboard icon on Gboard’s top row or the three-dot menu on the keyboard. Select clipboard. Press and hold your finger on the image which will be on the top of Gboard’s clipboard list. From a menu of options, select “Pin.” The next time you open the clipboard, the pinned image will show up right under the most recently copied items.And that is all you need to do to more quickly and easily add images you want to share in your emails and messages!

February 25, 2022

Reddit is introducing a better way to find new communities and content

If you use Reddit on your Android phone or your iPhone, you will probably notice a new Discover tab within the Reddit app, which strongly resembles an Instagram feed. Yes, it took two years, but finally, Reddit introduced a new significant change to its app. The idea of the new Discover tab is for Reddit users to find new communities and content more easily.

According to Reddit, if you are logged into your Reddit account, the content in the new Discover tab will be strongly personalized for you. Based on the subreddits and the content you watch on Reddit, the app will recommend content that you may like. Users who are not logged in to the app will see content that is currently trending on the platform.

As for why Reddit is introducing the Discover tab, Jason Costa, Reddit’s director of product for content and communities, told Engadget, “Discover is more meant to solve the breadth problem and really help people traverse the wide corpus of Reddit.” He also mentioned that during the early testing of the Discover tab, thanks to the new feature, one in five Reddit users joined at least one subreddit.

Currently, the new Discover tab is available only on the mobile versions of Reddit. But, if the Reddit users like the new feature, Jason Costa said, “I could absolutely see it impacting other surface areas and maybe impacting the design language of Reddit.” This might imply that if Redditors like the new Discover tab, it may ultimately make its way to the platform’s web version.

February 25, 2022

iOS users spend more than double on subscriptions compared to Android users

A new research report has shown that subscriptions made from the App Store are more than double in terms of payment versus Google Play Store. In other words, this means iPhone and iPad users generally tend to spend more on subscriptions and buy more subscriptions in comparison to users on Android phones.

The information comes from a Sensor Tower report that showcases subscriptions revenue for 2021. In numbers, the App Store subscriptions have generated $13.5 billion in revenue, while Google Play subscriptions — $4.8 billion, despite the fact that Google Play spending is growing at a fast rate.

Overall, the App Store sees the most money spent on apps and subscriptions, as well as in-app purchases, compared to Google. The record-high $13.5 billion spent us for the top 100 non-gaming subscriptions globally.

Subscription spending on the App Store grew 31% since last year when it was $10.3 billion. On the other hand, Google Play saw a whopping 78% growth to reach this $4.8 billion mark.

These are the global numbers. However, US numbers are not that different though. The report is also giving some information on US-only spending, and the App Store has recorded $6 billion, while the Google Play Store, $2.5 billion.

In terms of specific apps, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) is at the top of the charts with YouTube on the App Store and Google One on the Google Play Store. According to the report, YouTube generated 1.2 billion globally and $566.5 million in the U.S., while Google One achieved $1.1 billion globally and $698 million in the U.S. in 2021.

February 25, 2022

Gold prices soar to new peak

Vietnamese gold prices hit a new all-time high of VND64.8 million (US$2,838.4) per tael Thursday as global rates skyrocketed amid tensions over the Ukraine situation.

Saigon Jewelry Company sold gold at VND64.8 million per tael of 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces, up 1.4 percent from Wednesday afternoon.

DOJI sold at VND64.7 million, also up 1.4 percent. The previous high in Vietnam was VND62.4 million in August 2020.

In the global market, the metal rose by 1.7 percent to a nine-month high of $1,930.65 per ounce as geopolitical tensions supported demand for safe-haven bullion.

Vietnamese prices are VND11.35 million, or 21.5 percent, higher than global rates.

Gold continued to be the top asset class for 72 percent of Vietnamese investors, the WGC said citing a study of 2,000 investors last year.

February 25, 2022

6 Essential Tips to Get More Instagram Followers

Do you want more Instagram followers? Are you looking for ways to get your account seen by more people? If so, you’re in the right place. There are many different ways to increase the number of Instagram followers that you have. For example, you can buy Instagram followers via one of the best sites listed on Earthweb. In this blog post, we will discuss six essential tips on how to get real followers on Instagram. By following these tips, you can improve your chances of gaining more followers and expanding your reach on this social media platform. Keep reading for more information!

Engage and Create Engagement

The very first thing that you should focus on doing to get more Instagram followers is to engage as much as you can, as well as create engagement. Why is it important to engage? By engaging, you are getting your account out there, and the more people who see it, the higher the likelihood of someone clicking on your profile.

In terms of creating engagement, there are many ways to go about doing this. For example, you can use Instagram Stories to create polls or ask your followers questions. You could even reply to comments on your posts, or comment on other people’s posts. Why? The higher your engagement levels, the more likely it is for Instagram to suggest your account or content.

Post the Best Content

That leads us to the second tip, which is to always post the best content. What is one thing that people are primarily looking for when using Instagram? To be entertained, and boring or bad content doesn’t help them to achieve that.

In addition to being entertained, great content is shareable, which means that the better your content is, the higher the likelihood of it being shared. Not only does this increase your reach, but it also helps to gain followers, since someone might want to see more of what you are posting.

Try Using Reels

The next thing that you should consider doing if you want to increase the number of followers you have is to try using Reels. Reels are essentially short videos that have a soundtrack overlaying them. Typically, these videos are entertaining, funny, or give a few small tips.

Why should you use Reels? Using Reels is a great way to increase your reach since they are shown to people who are not your followers. More than this, Reels are shown to users with specific interests, which means that you can target a specific audience. Research shows that many people are now basically just using Reels on Instagram.

Observe the Competition

One of the best things that you could do for the growth of your account is to observe the competition to see what they are doing. This is something that you should do regularly since content seems to change quite quickly on Instagram, especially if you are working within a niche, as you should be.

To do this, all you need to do is choose an account that is doing very well within your niche, and keep an eye on the content that they are creating, how they are presenting it, what hashtags they are using, and more.

Use Hashtags and UGC

That leads us to the next tip which is to always use hashtags when you are posting on Instagram. Hashtags group content that has similar hashtags, which means that if you use them correctly, you will be able to target your audience. This is because if anyone searches for a hashtag that you have used, there is a chance your content will appear in the search results.

Another great idea is to use user-generated content and to do that, you will need to create branded hashtags or start hashtag challenges. User-generated content is great because it increases engagement, as well as removes some of the weight from needing to consistently generate content yourself.

Be Consistent

Finally, perhaps the most important rule that you should follow is to always be consistent with what you are posting. This doesn’t necessarily just mean the quality of the content, it also means the frequency at which you post, so you don’t become irrelevant.

More than this, it also means staying within a niche, having a specific aesthetic or theme with your posts, and keeping engagement levels up.

February 25, 2022

Hong Kong flags tax breaks, handouts for Covid relief

Hong Kong will offer tax breaks, handouts, and subsidies to small businesses and residents, to mitigate the impact of a new wave of social restrictions to curb Covid-19 infections, Finance Secretary Paul Chan said in his 2022-23 budget speech.

The measures were announced as hundreds of bars, restaurants and small retailers warned they were months away from closure, following the imposition of the strictest restrictions since the pandemic began in 2020.

“Our economy and people’s livelihoods have been under immense pressure in recent months”, Chan told legislators via videoconference on Wednesday. “Economic performance in the first quarter is not optimistic.”

Chan said “countercyclical measures” in the budget to support the economy totaled more than HK$170 billion ($21.79 billion), with anti-epidemic measures alone worth more than HK$54 billion.

The global financial hub has doubled down on its “dynamic zero Covid” strategy, which aims to eradicate all outbreaks, following mainland China’s lead even as the rest of the world adjusts towards “living with the virus.”

Given the city is facing thousands of infections a day and the numbers are growing, some analysts predict at least one or two-quarters of economic contraction after recovering last year from the city’s most prolonged recession in 2019-2020.

Bars, gyms, beauty parlors and 12 other types of venues are closed, while restaurants cannot operate beyond 6.00 pm. Apart from grocery stores, most shops are deserted as residents are back working from home. The border is virtually shut with the finance sector complaining this has caused an exodus of talent and made operating a regional hub out of Hong Kong difficult.

The new measures announced on Wednesday include a 100 percent reduction in salaries tax, capped at HK$10,000, handouts of HK$10,000 consumption vouchers, financial aid for the unemployed, and subsidies for directly impacted businesses.

Hong Kong’s economy is expected to grow 2.0 percent to 3.5 percent this year after expanding 6.4 percent in 2021, Chan said.

February 23, 2022

AirAsia India unveils ‘FlyAhead’ service for fliers to take earlier flight

AirAsia India has unveiled its new ancillary service, ‘FlyAhead’. With the ‘FlyAhead’ service, guests wishing to take an earlier flight will be able to seamlessly opt for this facility.

The ‘FlyAhead’ service has been launched for a nominal fee of INR 1,500 for guests booked on standard fares and INR 500 for guests booked on Corporate and SME fares. Guests who reach the airport six hours or more prior to their scheduled flight departure can opt for the FlyAhead service at the AirAsia Airport Counter.

Change fees, which are typically INR 3,000 would be waived for all guests opting for the AirAsia FlyAhead service and fare differences typically charged by airlines would also not be applicable.

Speaking about the initiative, Dr. Ankur Garg, Chief Commercial Officer, AirAsia India, said: “AirAsia India has consistently developed innovative, future-proof solutions prioritizing the ease and comfort of our guests. Led by our core value of being ‘Guest Obsessed,’ our latest offering ‘FlyAhead’ is a new ancillary service which provides guests a flexible and convenient option to reach their destination ahead of schedule.”

February 23, 2022

Facebook is trying to replace TikTok with new Reels

When Meta accused Apple of costing the company ten billion dollars a few weeks back, Facebook had also shared some of its growth plans for the coming future. Part of its ten billion-dollar restructuring strategy, Zuckerberg stated, included initiating a “transition on our own services towards short-form video like Reels.”

This also includes a global launch of Facebook’s own version of Reels, as Meta observed TikTok’s viral success and shifts its focus on promoting similar content. Facebook had recently been trialing “Facebook Reels” with multiple users on the platform, as well as promoting cross-platform video sharing to garner wider interest in this type of content and test the waters. Starting today, Reels is officially becoming its own standalone feature on Facebook, and is rolling out to at least 150 countries over the coming weeks.

Zuckerberg made the announcement in a Facebook post earlier today: “Reels is already our fastest-growing content format by far, and today we’re making it available to everyone on Facebook globally. We want Facebook Reels to be the best place for creators to connect with their community and make a living, so we’re launching new monetization tools, too.”

The Reels will begin appearing for everyone right at the top of Facebook users’ Feed. Facebook Stories—another feature stolen off Instagram—will be able to be converted into Reels, and vice versa: Reels will be able to be shared as part of Stories.

Facebook Reels are also set to become a promoted category on Facebook Watch as well as, surprisingly, Facebook Groups. Users will additionally be shown individually recommended Reels, which the company caters to according to people’s personal taste. In short, Facebook will push the new Facebook Reels to feature quite literally everywhere across the platform.

To create a financial incentive for bigger creators to focus on Reels, Facebook is also paying up to $35,000 per month to select creators to pump out more Reels content. That particular bonus program has been around ever since Facebook began seriously testing Reels, and is part of the company’s billion-dollar creative investment pledge it made back in July 2021.

February 23, 2022

Amazon Luna subscribers can now start games directly from Twitch

Amazon has done something that Google either couldn’t or subsequently decided not to do. That is to increase the integration between its cloud gaming service and its video platform by making the games on the gaming service directly accessible from the company’s video platform. As first spotted by Vet Cloud Gaming, then shared in a tweet by Bryant Chappel, Amazon has added a new “Play on Luna” button to Twitch.

The “Play on Luna” button on Twitch will only appear if you have an active subscription to Amazon’s cloud gaming service, Luna. If you do have a Luna subscription, as demonstrated by Vet Cloud Gaming, you can go to Twitch and search for a game. If the game is accessible on Luna, you will notice a new “Play on Luna” button next to the Follow button when you open the searched game’s page on Twitch.

When you click the “Play on Luna” button, you will see that Twitch will directly open the Luna app and start the game for you without the need to take any further action. You simply click on the “Play on Luna” button and play the game.

Luna subscribers can already watch Twitch streams in Luna, and with the new “Play on Luna” button, Amazon fully fulfilled a promise that it made back in 2020 when it announced its Luna cloud gaming service. In 2020, Amazon stated, “Inside the Luna experience, players will see Twitch streams for games in the service, and from Twitch, they’ll be able to instantly start playing Luna games.”

Google wanted to do the same thing that Amazon did with its “Play on Luna” button. When Google announced Stadia, its cloud gaming service, Google stated that it planned to introduce a way to start playing a game on Stadia directly from the game’s trailer on YouTube only by pressing a button on the video platform.

Google also wanted to enable Stadia subscribers to join a multiplayer game via a streamer’s YouTube channel—but for Google, none of that ever happened, and now Amazon seems to have started picking up the slack.

February 23, 2022

Twitter working on a ‘Leave Conversation’ option to stop mentions in a thread you no longer care about

Ever had a very annoying conversation on Twitter that you really wanted to forget and were not able to, because of constant tagging and notifications? Well, Twitter seems to be working on a feature that will allow you to just leave a conversation you no longer find productive or fun with a single button.

We all know that sometimes, a Twitter thread can go on for a long time, and over time, it could get boring and even annoying to keep getting notifications and mentions about it. Reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong has now discovered that Twitter will be working on making your life easier with a new feature called Leave Conversation.

As you can see from the screenshot the reverse engineer provided, the button to Leave a Conversation will untag your name, stop future mentions on the thread from happening, and you won’t be getting any notifications about the conversation anymore.

Basically, what it will do is turn the @ mentions of your username to regular text and prevent future notifications for the thread. So far, this feature is still in its testing period and it could be a while for it to be officially released to end-users. The thing is, some of these features that are tested take a long time (or some don’t even make it) for a final release, so keep that in mind.

The Leave Conversation feature is not the only one the social media giant has been working on to improve the user experience on its app. Recently, we reported on the fact that Twitter has announced a pretty useful feature that allows you to pin Direct Messages.

With this new feature, you will be able to pin select conversations at the top of your Direct messages, so you don’t have to spend some time scrolling looking for Twitter DMs with your friends or relatives. The cool thing is that the feature will allow you to pin up to six conversations to the top of your Direct Message inbox.

This useful feature should roll out in waves to Android and iOS users, as well as for users on the web. Another recent feature that Twitter is testing, dubbed Safety Mode, has been in the works for some months and is now expanding to more users for feedback and insights

The Safety Mode feature basically prevents accounts that send harmful and abusive posts from doing so. You can activate it to block accounts that use potentially harmful language or send repetitive and unwanted replies or mentions to you for seven days.

Currently, the Safety Mode feature has rolled out to around 50% of users in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. On top of that, there will also be proactive Safety Mode prompts for the beta testers. With this feature, Twitter will proactively identify possible harmful posts and replies and prompt you to enable Safety Mode.

Twitter is not set only on security features though, and some of the features it is working on are just additional options to enhance your experience on the social media platform. One such feature is the possibility to change the playback speeds of a video on Twitter, which is also currently being tested out.

February 23, 2022

Vietnam gold prices climb to new record

Vietnam gold prices rose to a new high Tuesday on the back of global rates soaring because of rising international tensions over the Ukraine situation.

The Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) was selling its gold at VND63.85 million ($2,798) per tael at 3 p.m., up 1.03 percent from Monday. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces. It then fell to VND63.6 million at the time of publishing.

DOJI sold its gold at VND63.65 million, up 0.71 percent.

In the global market, gold rose 0.2 percent to a near nine-month high of $1,909.33 per ounce, as tensions intensified in Eastern Europe intensified after Russia ordered troops into breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, supporting demand for safe-haven bullion.

“With the situation deteriorating seemingly by the day in Eastern Europe, there is very little reason to be negative on gold at the moment,” said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

February 23, 2022

WhatsApp for iOS has a redesigned voice call UI in the works

WhatsApp has been working quite hard on improving the user experience in the app amidst all its rising rivals such as Signal and Telegram. Now, the app is working on a redesigned user interface for voice calls for iPhones, a feature that’s currently rolling out to WhatsApp beta testers on iOS.

For a while now, WhatsApp has been working to improve the voice call experience, and now, the beta version 22.5.0.70 is showing a revamped user interface that should be coming to the app.

Keep in mind that, as this is beta, the feature may change as it undergoes development before its official global release. With that being said, let’s explore what WhatsApp is working on to make your voice call experience on its app a better one.

Here’s an image from version 22.5.0.70 (beta of WhatsApp for iOS), which shows the improved interface for group calls. It seems that real-time voice waveforms are going to come to calls. The app has recently rolled out similar waveforms for audio messages.

This change will help you see who is currently talking, and also could be useful to determine who needs to mute their microphone (yeah, we all know those group call situations when someone has left their mic on and therefore distracts you from whatever the speaker is saying).

On top of that, WhatsApp will be getting wallpapers for voice calls; however, they are not currently editable with this beta.

Earlier, WhatsApp started working on a redesigned voice call interface that should look more modern and neatly organized. It is still under development, and at least at first glimpse, looks quite familiar to the current one. The point of this redesign is to make the UI more user-friendly and modern. On the other hand, there will be some more UI tweaks that are not visible in the screenshot below that could make their way to the official release.

WhatsApp has been working hard to make its chat app as good as it could be, and as feature-rich as it could get for the best user experience. The app will soon be getting indicators for end-to-end encryption (as you may probably know, WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted for a few years).

With an update coming sometime in the future, the app will be getting new visuals to assure you that everything you say stays between you and the people you’re chatting with.

Additionally, recently we reported on the fact that WhatsApp could finally be getting a dedicated iPad app. WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart recently hinted at a possible WhatsApp for iPad release and the company seems to be working on it.

The thing is that the data encrypted on WhatsApp wasn’t allowing for the company to safely sync it across multiple devices so far. However, as data encryption technology evolves, WhatsApp is working to make an iPad app a reality.

“Our web and our desktop apps now have that. If I have multi-device on, I can turn my phone off or lose my network connection and still get messages on my desktop. That would be really important for a tablet app, to be able to use the app even if your phone isn’t on. So the underlying technology is there.”, stated Cathcart, giving some hope to users who have been wanting an iPad WhatsApp app.

The beta version of multi-device support that was created last year allows users to link up to four devices at a time to their account. However, the downside of this feature was that it needed your phone to be connected to the internet the whole time for it to work. Last fall, WhatsApp introduced a new multi-device beta for iOS that can work without your iPhone connected to the internet.

February 22, 2022