WhatsApp is experimenting GUI through renewing emoji style. Recently they added animated GIF sharing, quick forward button, GIF keyboard, etc. Now WhatsApp beta 2.17.43 version brings new emoji style. They switched emoji style to 2D versus previous flat style. It will soon be available to all user once it is coming out from beta stage.
Some rumors are also coming, like WhatsApp introducing self-disposable images, messages. Messaging in the future could be editable before it gets to read the tag. As a word-leader, it has challenges to improve the user experience without hampering the performance for which they are well-known. If you look at current interface fashion, then it has adhered to flat style standards. For example, most apps came in a flat interface, including menu, icon, etc. But they were challenging the status quo and diverted themselves into a two-dimensional world. The current emoji experiment is evidence for it.
Post-acquisition by Facebook, they mention the web-view, voice call, video call, backup to the cloud via Google Drive, etc. Which was one of a milestones of their journey.
