We haven’t seen a major update from the WhatsApp team since the UI change in February, but a beta version of WhatsApp shows that the team is continuing to push forward with its messaging client for Windows Phone alongside Nokia even amid the latest batch of WhatsApp acquisition rumors.
As revealed via PocketPC.ch, the new version of the unreleased app, currently in beta 2.9.6 and 2.9.7, reveals a few minor changes made to the popular messaging app, changes that, of course, are not yet final and could be changed at any time. The changes include new emoticons (as you can see from the screenshot above), a bit of a faster app startup time at 2.747 seconds, larger sized Live Tile option for Windows Phone 7.8, and some minor bug fixes, which we’ve gotten accustomed to with new app updates.
They may be minor changes, but any bug fixes are certainly welcome to improve the overall experience. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait too long to hold the new version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone in our hands.