WhatsApp for Windows Phone gets major new update, loads of new features

Now that Kik is on the sidelines for Windows Phone, WhatsApp has become our default international messaging app on Windows Phone. Luckily for us the WhatsApp team is busy updating and adding new functions to the app, evidently back on their 30-day schedule.

Version 2.9.2 is now live in the Store and it’s the one update you’ve been waiting for, as it really brings this app into its own.

New features include:

  • Lock screen notification support
  • New Tile design (less cartoony, more Metro)
  • Backup function
  • Hit “enter” as send
  • Mass message
  • New Attachment screen, including Audio, Video, Location, Picture, Camera and Contact
  • Some new UI layout changes

Overall, it’s an impressive update. The lock screen notifications go a long way to improving the app’s usability on Windows Phone 8 and the message backup feature and new layout should also please long time users looking for a more robust experience.

Notifications have been more consistent for us than on Kik and hopefully that will continue with this app update.

Did we miss any new features? Let us know in comments. You can download WhatsApp for free here in the Store. All Windows Phones supported. Thanks, Dennis and others for the tip!

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.