WhatsApp rolls out new chat themes on iOS, including animated wallpapers

Go to the 9to5Mac home page Switch site 9to5Toys 9to5Google Logo 9to5Google Electrek Drone DJ Logo DroneDJ Space Explored About Privacy Toggle social menu Toggle dark mode Search for: Submit Toggle search form Forums Store Podcasts Apple@Work Happy Hour 9to5Mac Daily Overtime iPhone iPhone Mac Mac MacBook Pro MacBook Air iMac Mac mini Mac Studio Mac Pro iPad iPad Pro iPad Air iPad mini iPad iPadOS Watch Apple Watch Apple Watch Ultra Apple Health Apple Watch SE Vision Vision Pro visionOS Music and TV Apple Music AirPods HomePod Apple TV Guides Reviews How Tos AAPL Apple Store Apple Arcade Apple Card Apple Silicon Apple One Apple Fitness+ CarPlay Siri HomeKit Toggle dark mode WhatsApp WhatsApp rolls out new chat themes on iOS, including animated wallpapers Marcus Mendes | Aug 28 2026 - 9:30 am PT 0 Comments Following the recent discovery that WhatsApp was working on new chat themes, the feature is now rolling out to iPhone users. Here are the details.

As reported by WABetaInfo , WhatsApp is now rolling out five new categories for chat themes: Featured, Nature, Live, Minimal, and Doodle. Just two weeks ago, the site had spotted references to the new theme galleries in code.

The site notes that while Featured includes “a selection of the best themes available,” curated by WhatsApp’s design team, the Nature category “offers themes that bring outdoor landscapes to the chat screen.” Live, meanwhile,“features wallpapers that move slowly in the background,” while Minimal themes “apply a plain background to the chat screen: white in light mode and dark in dark mode.” Finally, Doodle includes WhatsApp’s classic wallpaper with the doodle patterns.

Here’s WABetaInfo on the Live wallpapers, which are arguably the most notable addition:

Live is the most distinctive category for this update. This category features wallpapers that move slowly in the background. WhatsApp marks these themes by a small Live icon in the top right corner of its thumbnail. This makes it easier for users to recognize themes with an animated wallpaper, even when they are listed into the Featured category. About the animation, WhatsApp keeps it deliberately slow, just enough to give the background a dynamic feel. This is important since a faster animation would distract users from reading their messages. It could also cause discomfort for people with certain accessibility needs. As a result, this is not a technical limitation, but it is a perfect design choice.

WABetaInfo notes that WhatsApp automatically assigns a chat bubble color based on the selected theme, and adds that, as is the case with WhatsApp rollouts, the new feature might not be immediately available to all users.

To read WABetaInfo's full report, follow this link .

Do you have access to the new chat themes? Let us know in the comments.

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Expand Close comments Expand Close comments Guides WhatsApp Author Marcus Mendes https://www.threads.com/mvcmendes Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.

He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.