WhatsApp Android Gets a Floating Navigation Bar With Up to 5 Tabs

WhatsApp has started rolling out a new floating navigation bar to some Android beta testers. The bar drops its text labels and shrinks into a small pill as you scroll down. It can show up to five tabs. WhatsApp has not said when everyone will get it.

The new bar floats above the screen. It no longer touches the screen edges, so it sits apart from the main app. WhatsApp removed the text labels, so the bar takes up less space.

The selected tab now has a round highlight around its icon. The old highlight was pill-shaped.

The bar shows on every main tab: Chats, Updates, Contacts and Calls. It also works with the You tab. Because of this, some users may see five tabs. The News reports that tab layouts differ between accounts, as WhatsApp tests several setups.

How the Bar Reacts When You Scroll

Scroll down your chat list, and the bar slowly shrinks in width and height. It ends up as a small floating pill with the icons still visible. Scroll back up, and it grows back to full size.

This leaves more room for your chats, updates, contacts and calls.

Blur and Colour Changes

WhatsApp added a soft blur below the bar. It stops the bar from ending in a hard edge above the chat list. The design also works with edge-to-edge screens.

The selected tab uses the app’s accent colour, which is green by default. WABetaInfo says WhatsApp Plus users can pick a different accent colour.