WhatsApp tests rounder iPhone bubbles and cleaner media cards

WhatsApp is testing a new iPhone chat design that makes message bubbles rounder and strips visible borders from shared media cards. In the test build, chats look cleaner and a bit closer to iMessage-style geometry, especially around photos, videos, GIFs, files, and link previews. The redesign is not a full rollout yet: it is limited to a subset of iPhone testers rather than all WhatsApp users.

Rounder bubbles and cleaner media cards on iPhone

The most obvious change is the shape of the message bubbles themselves. WhatsApp is rounding the corners more aggressively, which softens the look of the chat screen and changes the visual rhythm of back-and-forth conversations. For iPhone users who spend a lot of time in customer threads, support chats, or media-heavy conversations, this is the kind of update that is immediately visible even though nothing about messaging behavior changes underneath.

Shared media is also getting a cleaner presentation. Photos, videos, GIFs, files, and link previews no longer carry the same visible border treatment in the tested design, which makes those items sit more naturally inside the thread. In media-heavy chats, the interface looks less boxed-in and more streamlined without changing how content is sent, received, or opened.

WhatsApp has tied the redesign to beta build 26.29.10.70. That version detail is mainly useful as a marker for testers and teams that track iPhone app changes closely, not as a sign of broad availability. The update remains cosmetic: it does not change encryption, message delivery, or how groups work.

A broader iOS redesign already moved through WhatsApp

This bubble refresh is part of a wider run of iPhone interface changes that WhatsApp has been pushing through this year. Earlier visual updates have already touched the navigation bar, chat lists, message reactions, and context menus, giving the app a more consistently updated iOS look across key screens. The new bubbles extend that same design pass into the core chat view, where users spend most of their time.

For business users and operators, the practical takeaway is simple: customer chats on iPhone may soon look different even if workflows stay the same. The redesign does not introduce new controls or change how messages move through the app, but it does affect the presentation of everyday conversations and shared content. If your team uses WhatsApp as a customer-facing channel, this is the kind of visual change that can alter how polished chats feel without requiring retraining.

TestFlight limits and the missing release date

Availability is still narrow. WhatsApp is testing the redesign with only a subset of iPhone users, and there is no confirmed public release date yet. It is also still unclear how the test is being divided across account groups, devices, or regions, so most iPhone users should not expect to see the new bubbles immediately.

That limited scope is the main reason to treat this as an early visual preview rather than an imminent app-wide change. The bubble redesign and borderless media treatment are the story here, but the timing is not settled. For now, WhatsApp is continuing to refresh its iPhone interface in small stages, with the chat screen now joining the navigation bar, chat lists, reactions, and menus in that ongoing update cycle.

Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI. Images are for illustrative purposes only.