Voice audio messages in WhatsApp are useful when you want to say something to someone but don't feel like typing or you don't have your hands free. It has been possible for some time to play the spoken messages faster, but more will soon be possible. WhatsApp is currently testing a feature that allows you to listen to audio messages outside the chat in which they were sent.
WhatsApp gets improved audio messages: listen anywhere in the app
WABetaInfo discovered the new feature. It is visible in the latest beta of the app, although not all beta testers see the improvement yet. iCulture can confirm that the function is indeed being tested. It is a generic audio player for playing audio messages, which is always at the top of the app when you are listening to a voice message.
So, with the new audio player, you can listen to voice messages anywhere in the app. Once you receive an audio message in a chat, play it as you normally do. You can then return to your chat overview while listening. The audio message will then continue to play as shown by the blue bar at the top of the screen. You can pause the audio message, but you can also tap it away. In the current public version of WhatsApp, the playback of an audio message is immediately stopped as soon as you leave the chat.
Except in the chat overview, the blue bar is visible everywhere in the app: in the Status tab, in the Conversations tab and even in the Settings screen. You can also go to another chat conversation. This function will be especially useful for longer audio messages, in which something is said that is also important for another contact. Thanks to this audio player you can listen to a spoken message while you type a message to someone else.
It is not yet known when the function will be available to everyone. At the moment it is only being tested with a group of beta users.
WhatsApp has been working on the audio messages for some time. Recently, you can also pause while recording and listen back to the message before sending it. But WhatsApp has even more new features in development. For example, you can expect profile pictures with WhatsApp notifications soon, which will also come in handy for the new Focus feature in iOS 15.