Neowin News Feed for: Beta

Apple finally brings end-to-end encryption to RCS on iPhone

Paul Hill — Tue, 12 May 2026 07:26:01 +0000

A massive privacy upgrade is rolling out for cross-platform chats. Find out how Apple's latest beta is changing the way you message Android users. Read more...

Proton Pass gets brand spanking new CLI client, available now to a limited subset of testers

Paul Hill — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:42:01 +0000

Proton Pass CLI has just been launched in beta by Proton. Right now, it is only available to Visionary supporters, but it will be available more widely soon. Read more...

WhatsApp unlocks a streamlined new way to control status privacy

Paul Hill — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 07:30:03 +0000

WhatsApp is changing how you share status updates. A new beta feature adds audience chips, making it much faster to pick who sees your post. Read more...

Linux Mint 22.3 release will be a short cycle, immediate focus is LMDE 7

Paul Hill — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:42:01 +0000

The Linux Mint team is focused on LMDE 7, with a beta set to arrive this month. Afterwards, it'll prepare to release Linux Mint 22.3 in December. Read more...

WhatsApp is rolling out threaded message replies for some beta testers

Paul Hill — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 03:08:01 +0000

The WhatsApp beta for Android is rolling out threaded replies to more people. This helps users keep track of conversations. Read more...

WhatsApp is bringing blue read receipts to all themes for clarity

Paul Hill — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 06:18:01 +0000

The latest beta of WhatsApp on Android and iOS has started rolling out blue checkmarks for read receipts, no matter what theme you use. Read more...

WhatsApp is building a close friends status feature for Android

Paul Hill — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 06:06:01 +0000

Meta is now working on the close friends status feature in Android just days after the feature was discovered in the iOS beta. Read more...

WhatsApp update brings native Live Photos to iOS

Paul Hill — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 08:58:01 +0000

WhatsApp is getting Live Photos support on iOS. It's apparently available for some beta testers and even a handful of users on the stable build. Read more...

WhatsApp beta for iOS gets disappearing status settings

Paul Hill — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 07:50:02 +0000

WhatsApp beta for iOS has introduced disappearing status messages, bringing it up to parity with the Android version, giving users more control over updates. Read more...

WhatsApp beta adds checkboxes to forward picker for Android

Paul Hill — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 06:54:01 +0000

Meta is testing a new feature in the WhatsApp beta which makes forwarding messages much more intuitive. Read more...

WhatsApp beta adds new Meta AI fact-check tool

Paul Hill — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 06:08:01 +0000

Meta has released a new WhatsApp beta that allows you to quickly forward messages to Meta AI to get them fact-checked. This could hinder the spread of misinformation. Read more...

WhatsApp adds a 'Private Writing Help' AI assistant with a focus on 'Private Processing'

Paul Hill — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 02:24:01 +0000

WhatsApp is testing a new Writing Help feature with beta testers. It uses a privacy-focused architecture to deliver this feature. Read more...

WhatsApp's guest chats feature has a surprising catch

Paul Hill — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 05:04:01 +0000

Meta is developing a new feature for WhatsApp called guest chats that will let you have encrypted chats with people who don't have an account, but there are notable limitations. Read more...

WhatsApp's new feature could spell disaster for your productivity

Paul Hill — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 01:50:01 +0000

A new WhatsApp beta for Android has added a seemingly helpful new feature, but if you are not careful, it could hurt your productivity. Read more...

Gears of War: Reloaded beta expanded following rocky start, adds more time and content

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 17:30:02 +0000

Following reports of unstable servers and matchmaking issues, the Gears of War: Reloaded multiplayer beta is offering even more playtime and more content. Read more...

Gears of War: Reloaded multiplayer beta kicks off this weekend, here's how to get access

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 20:56:01 +0000

Two beta weekends for Gears of War: Reloaded are incoming in June. Here's how you can gain access and play the multiplayer early. Read more...

Steam Proton 10 beta 1 now available with support for more AAA games, fix for many core CPUs

Paul Hill — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 10:34:01 +0000

You can now experience even more of your favorite Windows-based games on Linux, including Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition and the highly anticipated Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024! Read more...

The Google Phone app may soon let you add additional context to a spam report

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 13:12:01 +0000

The Google Phone app may soon let you add more information to a spam report, such as what the scammer pretended to be and what they asked for. Read more...

WhatsApp camera icon in the chat bar gets replaced by gallery shortcut

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 12:14:01 +0000

WhatsApp is replacing the camera button with a gallery shortcut, but you can still record instant video messages. Read more...

WhatsApp spotted developing badge count feature for chat filters

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:34:01 +0000

WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will show the number of unread messages within each custom or default chat filter. Read more...

WhatsApp may soon send you notification reminders for missed status updates

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 14:16:01 +0000

WhatsApp is working on a notification reminder feature that will remind you of missed status updates from your contacts. Read more...

Spotify launches custom cover art for playlists, available in beta today

Steve Bennett — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 13:22:02 +0000

The feature lets free and premium users of Spotify create their own custom art for saved playlists using the mobile app. Read more...

WhatsApp testing web search for shared images

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 13:32:01 +0000

WhatsApp is developing a new feature that will allow users to check the authenticity of any image they receive. Read more...

WhatsApp Beta users on Android can now try in-app camera effects

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 05:40:01 +0000

WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature for Android beta users that lets them apply effects directly to the camera. Read more...

Spotify expands AI playlist generation feature to more countries including the US

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 15:46:01 +0000

The Spotify AI playlist generation feature is now available in more countries including the US for beta users. Read more...

You can access Apple Intelligence now, as the latest Beta removes the region restriction

Steve Bennett — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:18:01 +0000

Apple Intelligence has been in testing in iOS 18.1 beta for the last couple of weeks, but it was restricted to US-based users until yesterday, which has removed this requirement. Read more...

WhatsApp may bring Instagram-like reaction button for status updates

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 13:04:01 +0000

The latest WhatsApp Android beta update shows that the messaging platform is working on a new feature that would allow users to react to status updates quickly with a heart emoji similar to Instagram. Read more...

Latest WhatsApp Android beta lets you pick between 10 different Meta AI voices

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 12:30:02 +0000

After being spotted working on a new voice chat mode to communicate with Meta AI, the latest WhatsApp Android beta update lets users choose among 10 different voices for Meta AI for quick responses. Read more...

Apple Maps on the web now available in public beta

Pradeep Viswanathan — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 04:54:01 +0000

Apple has launched a public beta of Apple Maps on the web, making it accessible to anyone using a modern web browser. The web version offers features like driving and walking directions. Read more...

Google working on Android's QR scanner redesign with a new launch animation

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 12:58:02 +0000

Google was spotted working on a new feature that introduces a new user interface for Android's QR code scanner, making it easy to operate. The feature also has a new launch animation. Read more...

Google Play Store to make it easier to view app ratings for different devices

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 07:54:01 +0000

The latest report suggests that Google is working on a new tweak for the Play Store, which will show the app ratings for different devices directly on the device chip, saving a few seconds and a tap. Read more...

Linux Mint 22 Stable release may take more than two weeks, project lead warns

Paul Hill — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 05:30:01 +0000

The Linux Mint Stable release will happen in June, says project lead, but not necessarily after the traditional two weeks from Beta. There are still over 50 bugs plaguing the Beta as of Sunday. Read more...

Going incognito on the Google app may become easier in the future

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 05:08:01 +0000

In the latest beta, Google has reportedly added a new button that would make going incognito on the Google app easier, negating the need to go through multiple taps to browse privately. Read more...

Android 15's Notification Cooldown will help reduce vibrations for successive notifications

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 05:20:02 +0000

An upgraded Notification Cooldown feature spotted in the Android 15 Beta 1.2 update will help reduce the number of vibrations your phone does when you receive successive notifications. Read more...

ChatGPT Android beta app gains a nifty feature from its Web version

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 11:54:01 +0000

The ChatGPT Android app is reportedly set to borrow a nifty feature from its web version: the ability to edit your prompts. This feature is already available on the standard version of the iOS app. Read more...

Threads testing an easy way to help you automatically archive old posts

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 05:08:01 +0000

Meta's Threads is testing a new option that allows the user to automatically archive old posts. The feature is currently available to a small set of users and could be added as a manual option. Read more...

WhatsApp spotted testing a new offline file transfer feature called People Nearby

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:30:02 +0000

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will let users share files with their contacts when offline. The feature will work like AirDrop and Nearby Share to send documents, media, etc. Read more...

Apple releases first public beta of iOS 17.4, including EU sideloading support

Steve Bennett — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 20:10:02 +0000

Apple has made the first beta of iOS 17.4 available to the public, including the changes made to accommodate new laws which will come into place within the EU starting from March 2024. Read more...

Xbox Insider Alpha and Beta ring users get Build 2308.230816-2200 with fixes

Paul Hill — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 19:26:01 +0000

Microsoft has just released Build 2308.230816-2200 to Xbox Insiders on the Alpha and Beta rings. It comes with several fixes to the Home, notifications, and more. Unfortunately, there are issues too. Read more...

Samsung opens One UI 6 beta program for Galaxy S23 devices

Paul Hill — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 17:16:01 +0000

Samsung has opened the One UI 6 beta program for owners of the Galaxy S23 series devices. To join, users must also be based in either the United States, Germany, or South Korea. This is what's new. Read more...