WhatsApp Floating Navigation Bar: What the Android Beta Shows

WhatsApp is preparing a new look for the row of icons that Android users tap dozens of times a day. A report from the feature tracker WABetaInfo, published on 25 September, says the company is developing a floating bottom navigation bar with rounded corners. The design appeared in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.38.10, distributed through Google Play's beta program.

The limits of that finding matter. The bar is not yet enabled for beta testers, WhatsApp has not announced it, and there is no release date. This piece separates what the beta evidence shows from what is still speculation.

What the beta build shows about the WhatsApp Android redesign

According to WABetaInfo, the new design pulls the navigation bar away from the main interface. Today's bar spans the full width of the screen along the bottom edge. The redesigned version appears as a separate, rounded strip that seems to hover above the content.

WhatsApp is testing the look in both light and dark themes. WABetaInfo says the change is easier to spot in the light theme, though that could shift as development continues. The tracker also stresses that the current version may not be the final one.

Other outlets describe the shape as pill-like, with heavily rounded corners. That description comes from screenshots WABetaInfo shared, not from any WhatsApp release notes.

How the WhatsApp floating navigation bar compares with iOS

The obvious comparison of WhatsApp floating navigation bar is the iPhone app. When WhatsApp adopted Apple's Liquid Glass design language on iOS, it gave the tab bar a floating shape, rounded corners and a translucent finish.

The Android version follows part of that direction. The floating position and rounded edges are the main similarities. The glass effect is not expected to come along. WABetaInfo notes that the Android app follows its own design guidelines, so the final layout will differ from iOS where translucency is concerned. Some outlets link that to Google's Material Design conventions, but that is their interpretation, and WhatsApp has not commented on it.

In short, this is an Android-flavoured take on an iOS idea, not a copy of it.

The 2023 change that set the stage

The current layout has been in place for a few years. WhatsApp first moved its main sections to the bottom of the Android screen in beta 2.23.10.6 in 2023. The company announced the rollout to Android users on X in early 2024, describing the bar as "closer to your thumbs."

That update did more than move the bar. It replaced the default green background with white, gave each section an icon and renamed Status to Updates. WhatsApp said it reordered the sections to make the most-used ones easier to reach.

WABetaInfo describes the new work as a fresh look for the bar after three years. It is a visual reshaping of existing navigation, not a new messaging feature.

Reports about Meta AI and Communities remain unconfirmed

Some coverage goes beyond what WABetaInfo reported. YTechB says Meta AI could get its own dedicated tab in the redesigned bar, while the Communities option may be removed. NewsBricks similarly suggests Meta AI could take a fixed place in the bar instead of relying mainly on a floating shortcut.

WABetaInfo's own article mentions neither change. Until a beta build shows it or WhatsApp confirms it, treat both claims as unverified. The tab lineup you use today, covering Chats, Updates, Communities and Calls, is the only one that has been confirmed.

Part of a wider Android interface refresh

The navigation bar is not the only visual change in progress. Beta 2.26.37.6 introduced a new chat themes experience for Android, with added categories and themes for personalising conversations. Separately, WhatsApp Plus subscribers can change the app's accent colours.

WABetaInfo suggests the redesign may also respond to user feedback. It says many people replied to one of its posts about the Android interface asking for a more modern look. WhatsApp has not confirmed that this feedback shaped the new bar, and WABetaInfo frames the link as a possibility, not an established fact.

How to read a feature found in beta code

Beta discoveries are useful signals, but they are not promises. A design that appears in a beta build can change, be delayed or be dropped before it reaches the public app. WABetaInfo says WhatsApp will make the bar available to some users in a future update, but the company has not said when everyone will get it.

WhatsApp features usually arrive gradually, starting with a small group of testers and expanding over time. For this redesign, that first step has not happened. The bar is not enabled even for beta testers, so installing beta 2.26.38.10 will not show it.

What changes for everyday users

For now, nothing. The navigation bar in your app works as it has since 2024, and there is nothing to switch on.

If the design ships as tested, the difference would mostly be visual. The bar would sit slightly apart from the screen edge and look softer because of its rounded corners. Whether that changes how easy the bar is to reach with a thumb is not something the available reports address, so it would be premature to say.

The next real signal will be either a beta release that enables the bar for testers or a statement from WhatsApp. Until then, the WhatsApp Android redesign remains a work in progress, and any details beyond the floating shape, rounded corners and light and dark themes should be treated as provisional.