WhatsApp is moving its Liquid Glass design deeper into the app: beta testers are now seeing a frosted, translucent chat bar and a revamped navigation area that aim to give chats a floating, layered look.
WABetaInfo says it managed to activate a new in‑chat interface that includes a floating chat bar and a translucent navigation bar, and selected iOS testers are reporting translucent elements, updated animations and a floating chat bar in the latest beta builds.
The change is visible in the WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.17.10.70 distributed via TestFlight, and testers working with the broader WhatsApp beta for iOS 26 have also started spotting the Liquid Glass style moving beyond the tab bar into the main chat screen.
Those details matter because the Liquid Glass work began last year when Meta first rolled the aesthetic into the tab bar, and the current push represents the first substantial effort to refashion the chat interface itself since the initial tests in late 2025 and December’s early betas.
Under the new look, buttons and interactive controls adopt a soft, frosted appearance and animations are smoother, while semi‑transparent layers add perceived depth on screen. The keyboard and context menus are being updated to match, shortcuts such as the jump‑to‑latest‑message button are being restyled, and the floating tab bar already shows the glass‑like effect clearly.
Not every tester has the same view. A recent report noted the changes were not available even to some beta users, and many regular users still have not received redesigned UI elements. Meta appears to be taking a relaxed, gradual approach: the company is rolling the Liquid Glass design out in stages, watching performance and user feedback rather than flipping it live for everyone at once.
That staged rollout is deliberate. WhatsApp is reportedly testing the voice note player for compatibility with the Liquid Glass treatment before a wider launch, and the redesign is still under active development. The feature is planned for a later update rather than an immediate public release, and WhatsApp plans to refine the look for consistency and roll it first to beta users in stages.
The technical tradeoffs are visible in the interface itself. While observers describe the chat bar as floating, other test details note the chat bar remains fixed at the bottom of the screen but appears as a floating strip over a translucent background — a small but important distinction that speaks to how WhatsApp is balancing new visuals with existing layout and gesture behavior.
There is an unresolved gap between ambition and availability. Meta tested Liquid Glass last year and pushed it into the tab bar, yet the rollout has been slow and many users still do not have the updates. WABetaInfo says WhatsApp is almost ready to release a redesigned in‑chat interface, but GSMArena’s coverage shows the changes were not yet visible to some beta testers, underscoring how uneven this staged release has been.
For users who do see it, the difference is tangible: translucent navigation that can fade to transparency, a frosted chat strip that overlays the conversation, and updated animations that make controls feel softer and more tactile. For the rest, the app looks unchanged for now while Meta continues to monitor real‑world performance and tweak compatibility — especially for components like the voice note player that must work reliably across millions of devices.
The most consequential unanswered question is whether the compatibility testing — and Meta’s cautious rollout strategy — will stretch the timeline further. WhatsApp’s Liquid Glass work started in late 2025 and moved into visible beta changes by December; by 03 May 2026 the effort had clearly moved into the chat interface, but the company has signaled the chat redesign remains an iterative, staged release rather than a finished product.
