After iPhone, now WhatsApp Desktop users will also get the new Global audio player feature

Following up after the iPhone release, new WhatsApp global audio player feature will soon reach WhatsApp Desktop users

Weeks after its release for iPhone, WhatsApp Desktop is also set to get the global audio player, which will allow users to switch between chats without the voice note stopping (Bloomberg)

New WhatsApp Feature: Global audio player feature was added to iOS beta version a few weeks ago and will soon let all iPhone users enjoy this new feature. A similar update is planned for WhatsApp beta for Android soon too, WhatsApp Desktop is apparently getting this feature earlier. Currently this update has been rolled out for the WhatsApp Desktop beta version, it will soon be available for all Desktop users. With this feature, users can now play a voice note and switch between conversations or chats while the audio plays in the background.

This news was first reported by WhatsApp tracker WABetaInfo on February 6. Posting on its official Twitter account, it wrote, “The global audio player is available on WhatsApp Desktop! The ability to listen to voice notes when switching to a different conversation is now available on WhatsApp Desktop beta”. The update is part of WhatsApp Desktop beta 2.2204.5 but some users can also get it early with the 2.2204.1 beta update.

WhatsApp Desktop Global audio player

While WhatsApp iOS beta testers have already seen how this new WhatsApp feature works on iPhone, it will be interesting to note if there are any differences in the WhatsApp Desktop beta version. However, this does not seem to be the case. According to WABetaInfo, after playing a voice note and switching to a different chat results in an audio player bar appearing at the bottom of the chat list on the left side of the screen. That way, the voice note continues to play even as the user moves to different chats or groups.

“Thanks to this bar, we have control over the voice note by using the playback button and the progress bar indicator helps us understand when the voice note ends,” the WABetaInfo report said.

This particular feature was demanded by users for a while now. Oftentimes, users would mistakenly exit the chat causing the voice note to stop. Further, as the voice notes do not come with time elapsed details, users would be forced to guess where the audio note left off and repeat it again. WhatsApp users on Android will be last to receive this update but as the Android community is the fastest to implement updates, it may get the final update before iPhone or Desktop users.