New WhatsApp beta update brings changes to the voice recorder and shows sticker pack size

It would seem that the popular voice recording option on **WhatsApp** is about to get a lot easier to use. In WhatsApp’s latest update 2.18.71, launched through the Google Play Beta Program, we see that the online messaging platform has submitted two new updates, one of which concerns the voice recorder. [caption id=“attachment_4404799” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative Image of people using WhatsApp. Image: Reuters[/caption] As spotted by WABetainfo, the new update would enable the user to lock the voice recording when they press the little mic icon on the right side of the chat bar. Earlier when users had to send out a voice recording they had to hold the mic icon for the entire duration while recording their voice. With this update, they just have to press the mic icon and slide it up to lock the voice recording option. With this, you can freely navigate on the chat window while recording your voice without the need to hold down the button. The report also says that another improvement to this feature in the next update would enable you to listen to your recording first before sending it.

The second update is concerned with WhatsApp stickers. You can now see the size of the sticker packs before downloading them.

Recently WhatsApp also announced a **new update** on Google Play Beta Program which would allow users to access GIFs by sorting them into broad categories.