WhatsApp Just Announced Four New Features, Including a Major Update to CarPlay and Android Auto.
Samsung may have just announced a slew of new products at its July Unpacked event , but that’s not stopping WhatsApp from stealing the spotlight. While Samsung was unveiling the latest Galaxy Z devices , WhatsApp announced four new features that Android and iOS users can take advantage of right now. Here’s what’s new:
WhatsApp finally works as expected in CarPlay and Android Auto.
The goal of CarPlay and Android Auto is to make using smartphone apps safe while driving. Texting while driving isn’t recommended, but if you can hear and respond to messages by voice without taking your eyes off the road, it’s a win-win. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case with previous versions of WhatsApp for in-car use : you could send new messages and make calls through WhatsApp, but that was all it could do, making WhatsApp much more limited in its usability than other in-car communication apps.
According to WhatsApp, this is no longer the case. The latest update has radically changed the user experience, finally allowing you to listen to and reply to messages. In addition to making calls, you can view your call history to check if you’ve missed a call from someone. You can also access a list of favorite contacts, which should make it easier to quickly call and message the friends and family you communicate with most often.
WhatsApp has improved its handling of PDF files on the web and desktop.
With this update, you can now open PDF files directly in WhatsApp via the web or desktop app, without downloading them first. What’s more, you can edit these PDFs after opening, including highlighting text and adding annotations, without leaving the app. WhatsApp states that you can view and edit these PDFs using Adobe Acrobat, making WhatsApp competitive with other lightweight and free PDF apps on the market.
Share tracks from Apple Music and Spotify directly to WhatsApp.
If you listen to a song you like on Apple Music or Spotify, you can share it on many social networks, including now WhatsApp. The company says you can share tracks from these music apps in your WhatsApp status, which presumably allows your friends and family to listen to the song on Apple Music or Spotify themselves.
Register a WhatsApp account on your iPad.
It took some time, but in May 2025, WhatsApp finally launched an iPad app . Now, over a year later, WhatsApp allows users to create an account directly from WhatsApp on iPad, without having to link the account to a phone number. If you or someone you know uses an iPad as their primary device, this should come as welcome news.