WhatsApp is advancing its Liquid Glass redesign on iOS, with the most recent TestFlight build showcasing updates to message reactions and context menus. Here are the specifics.
### Liquid Glass Redesign Progresses in Beta Before Wider Launch
Last year, after the introduction of iOS 26, Meta initiated a limited test of the Liquid Glass aesthetic applied to the official app’s bottom navigation bar and certain elements of its Chats tab interface.
To date, this rollout seems to remain quite restricted, with the majority of users still experiencing the pre-Liquid Glass design.
In TestFlight builds, however, Meta has consistently been refining the Liquid Glass concept.
Recently, the WhatsApp build on TestFlight showed that Meta is working to incorporate Liquid Glass into the in-chat interface, following a prior beta that presented a similar redesign for the app’s voice message player.
Now, WABetaInfo reports that Meta is set to apply the same upgrade to two additional components of the chat experience: message reactions and context menus.
Like other unannounced WhatsApp features identified by WABetaInfo, the updated interface is not available to beta testers yet. Nonetheless, the site managed to activate it ahead of its official release.
Here’s what WABetaInfo discovered:
> At present, the reaction tray boasts a more solid and opaque look. While the context menu has been refreshed with the Liquid Glass design in the chat list, the context menu for messages retains a simpler background style with limited transparency effects. Consequently, these elements still seem visually inconsistent with other sections of the app that have already embraced the new design language.
As is the case with other unlaunched features identified in WhatsApp’s TestFlight builds, there’s still uncertainty regarding when these updates will reach the App Store version.
Nonetheless, the ongoing appearance of new Liquid Glass references in beta builds indicates that Meta is diligently working on the redesign and implies that an official launch may be approaching soon.