WhatsApp may bring iOS 26's Liquid Glass design to the one screen you actually use most
WhatsApp is working on extending its Liquid Glass redesign to the actual chat interface—the screen where you spend most of your time in the app. According to WABetaInfo, the update will overhaul both the chat bar at the bottom and the navigation bar at the top of every conversation.
The chat bar is getting the biggest glow-up. Instead of sitting flat at the bottom of the screen, it will float above the interface with a translucent, frosted background that dynamically reflects whatever is behind it. Even the little button that jumps you to the latest message in a thread is getting the Liquid Glass treatment. The navigation bar, meanwhile, will ditch its solid look and go transparent, with a soft fade effect that lets your wallpaper and messages peek through from underneath.
Most WhatsApp users on iOS 26 still don't have Liquid Glass at allWhatsApp first started testing the Liquid Glass look back in 2025, initially rolling it out to the tab bar and parts of the Chats screen. But the rollout has moved at a frustratingly slow pace—most users still haven't seen it. WABetaInfo notes the feature hasn't even reached beta testers yet, meaning it exists only in code for now.
That said, Meta isn't sitting still. Earlier this year, the voice note player was quietly updated with the same frosted aesthetic, and WhatsApp Business also received a partial Liquid Glass rollout. The picture that's emerging is a company deliberately holding back a wider release until the entire app feels visually consistent—not just select corners of it.
It's a reasonable approach, even if it's testing users' patience. A half-finished Liquid Glass rollout would look worse than none at all.
No release date has been confirmed. Once internal testing wraps up, WABetaInfo expects it to hit select TestFlight beta testers before any broader rollout.
The chat bar is getting the biggest glow-up. Instead of sitting flat at the bottom of the screen, it will float above the interface with a translucent, frosted background that dynamically reflects whatever is behind it. Even the little button that jumps you to the latest message in a thread is getting the Liquid Glass treatment. The navigation bar, meanwhile, will ditch its solid look and go transparent, with a soft fade effect that lets your wallpaper and messages peek through from underneath.
Most WhatsApp users on iOS 26 still don't have Liquid Glass at allWhatsApp first started testing the Liquid Glass look back in 2025, initially rolling it out to the tab bar and parts of the Chats screen. But the rollout has moved at a frustratingly slow pace—most users still haven't seen it. WABetaInfo notes the feature hasn't even reached beta testers yet, meaning it exists only in code for now.
That said, Meta isn't sitting still. Earlier this year, the voice note player was quietly updated with the same frosted aesthetic, and WhatsApp Business also received a partial Liquid Glass rollout. The picture that's emerging is a company deliberately holding back a wider release until the entire app feels visually consistent—not just select corners of it.
It's a reasonable approach, even if it's testing users' patience. A half-finished Liquid Glass rollout would look worse than none at all.
No release date has been confirmed. Once internal testing wraps up, WABetaInfo expects it to hit select TestFlight beta testers before any broader rollout.
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