WhatsApp iOS 7 preview shows off flat, clutter-free UI

WhatsApp for iOS 7 is a mess. For everyone who’s upgraded to iOS 7 and is stuck with the old look, you’ll know what we mean. The design clashes with the polished proficiency of Apple’s clean and merry OS – from the keyboard to the chat bubbles, the current WhatsApp on iOS 7 makes us forget that we have an iPhone 5S or 5C in our hands. Good news though, the updated WhatsApp for iOS 7 is coming soon, as soon as Black Friday, or 29 November. A German YouTube user managed to get his hands on the iOS 7 update for WhatsApp and recorded his initial hands-on for the world to enjoy. The video is in German, but is easy to get the gist of.

Das good

First impressions count and it’s readily apparent that this is the WhatsApp for iOS 7 we’ve been waiting for. The icon is flat and Jony Ive-approved in its beauty. After the clean, green icon is tapped, the YouTube user begins in earnest.

What is apparent is that if this is the iOS 7 version of WhatsApp, then nothing “mechanically” has been altered. The interface is where it’s at, and profile pictures are now encircled (the current WhatsApp places the pictures in a square). To us, it looked like Facebook Messenger at first glance, but underneath it’s all WhatsApp. After scouring the video for clues, we found one new addition to the WhatsApp lineup: iOS 7 Background Refresh. iOS 7 has a baked-in background app refresh option built into its DNA and WhatsApp is taking advantage of this. When we log into WhatsApp in the future, messages and videos would have already been pushed through. One issue though, background app refresh is a battery-murdering option that is best turned off, so many of us will miss out on WhatsApp’s new feature.

Outside of our lack of comprehending the German language, the new WhatsApp for iOS 7 seems to be the old WhatsApp we know and love, save for the iOS 7 sheen. And hopefully, we should all see it before the end of November.