WhatsApp for iOS has rolled out two new features designed to enhance user experience and streamline chat management. The first is a Drafts label for unsent messages, allowing users to easily locate incomplete drafts without the need to open every chat. The second addition is a new home screen widget, providing users with more control over how they access and categorize their conversations.
The Drafts label is part of the WhatsApp iOS app version 24.22.83 and is already available to most users. This feature appears next to chats that contain drafted but unsent messages. Instead of scrolling through the chat list or opening multiple conversations to find messages that were not sent, users can now quickly spot chats that have unfinished business thanks to the clearly visible "Draft" label. This update helps save time and reduces frustration when trying to follow up on messages that were not completed.
First spotted by WABetaInfo, the Drafts label was initially introduced in the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS (version 24.18.10.72) earlier this year. After extensive testing among users in the TestFlight program, the feature has now been rolled out widely to WhatsApp users on iOS.
Along with the Drafts label, WhatsApp has introduced a new home screen widget for iPhone users. This widget lets users access their chats from the iPhone home screen and sort them into categories such as Recents, Favourites, Pinned, or Frequently Contacted. This update leverages the iOS widget API, enabling real-time updates and seamless integration with the system. The new widget makes it easier for users to navigate their conversations and quickly access the chats that matter most to them, without needing to open the app every time.
However, while the primary name of Drafts has even been announced to be working, the new home screen widget may take just a bit more time to make itself known to its users. WhatsApp has stated that the widget’s release will be carried out in the future weeks, and the criterion has already arrived for some, while others will wait before they receive the new feature.
The new features that WhatsApp has introduced will enhance the usability of the application, and demystify and organize the user experience of messaging. With the Drafts label and the home screen widget, iPhone users can now get the improved and more convenient experience of messaging.