Our favorite chat apps now offer a much wider range of expression options than just text, photos, and videos. Most of the apps allow for GIFs, editable sticker packs, and the regular addition of new Unicode emoji. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is no different, however despite its enormous popularity, we frequently lament that it doesn’t differentiate itself from competing programs. Though a recent beta version indicates that animated sticker functionality is still being developed, developers appear to be aware of this.
While the Unicode consortium does a fantastic job of keeping up with trends and often deliberates on the inclusion of new emoji characters to facilitate discourse, emoji lack the visual flair and creative freedom that colorful personalized stickers or GIFs can offer. We previously covered WhatsApp’s ongoing efforts to animate emojis.
Along with emoji, a new beta version of the app 2.24.5.10, reveals that Meta also intends to animate stickers. There are already some sticker packs with animations, but you’ll probably note that they’re usually quite simple. According to WABetaInfo testers, in addition to the standard WebP-based stickers that are already available, the app is working on supporting animated stickers that are constructed on the Lottie framework.
Because it optimizes file sizes while maintaining image quality, the WebP image format is frequently utilized. But when photographs are resized to a higher size, this format loses quality, and the animation support is at best basic. All WebP’s benefits are also included in the Lottie framework, which also offers improved animations and lossless scaling like SVG. The ability to create more complex movements, smooth transitions between movements, and other animation effects can be granted to WhatsApp sticker artists by using these files.
Even though it might not seem like much in the big picture, WhatsApp has billions of users, so improved stickers with clear, detailed animations will be noticed. It would be nice to have improved graphics, which would make using stickers on WhatsApp entertaining once more. Regretfully, the functionality is still under development, and considering how long it has been that way, it is impossible to predict when Meta will introduce animated stickers based on Lottie in the app’s stable version.
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