Update or real improvement? A quick overview of the highlights of WeChat's latest beta version

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A few days ago, WeChat PC version was widely updated by many Apple fans. They thought that Windows version would be released soon, but after waiting for a long time, they got the news of mobile version update. Recently, WeChat released the latest beta versions of Android and iOS, including Android version 8.0.2 (internal beta) and iOS version 8.0.3 (internal beta). Although there are some differences in the version numbers, the updated contents are basically the same. Let's take a look.

The eternal "solved some known issues"

1. Redesign of payment interface

The payment interface has been slightly updated. Compared with the old payment page, the new version is flatter in style. But that's all. I didn't find any differences in other aspects. The visual upgrade that has been circulating in the market did not appear on my side.

The payment interface has been slightly adjusted

2. Desktop Icons

New shortcuts have been added to the desktop icons. Long press the icon to pop up a small menu with three built-in shortcut options: "My QR Code", "Payment", and "Scan". Relatively speaking, this improvement is quite practical. After all, payment is the second largest system in WeChat after communication, and it requires higher effectiveness. The only regret is that these options are currently fixed and cannot be defined for the time being.

Long press the desktop icon to display the shortcut menu

3. Unfollow the public account

Nowadays, many people follow a large number of public accounts on WeChat. However, "it's easier to invite a god than to send him away". How to unfollow public accounts that are no longer needed has become a headache for many people. WeChat has undergone several revisions and many adjustments have been made, but unfollowing public accounts has become increasingly troublesome. The new version has finally made some adjustments to the unfollowing design. In addition to being able to long-press the public account list to unfollow, you can now also click the "..." in the upper right corner of the public account, or the character icon to operate, which is more suitable for unfollowing needs in different environments.

Added context menu to unfollow public accounts

4. Video Account

Video accounts are still the focus of this optimization. One of the more obvious changes in the new version is that public accounts have begun to communicate with video accounts. Specifically, when you open a video account, you will see a newly added "Account Management" below. Click it to bind it to the public account of the same administrator as the video account. After the binding is completed, in addition to displaying the public account on the video account, you can also display the video account on the public account, thus achieving the effect of 1+1>2.

Video accounts can communicate with public accounts

5. Live Broadcast

WeChat live streaming has been around for a long time, but its influence is still not comparable to that of Xyin and Xshou. In this new version, WeChat changed the previous "Friends are watching" to "Recommendation", and the content is no longer limited to the content watched by friends, but is automatically pushed according to the user's browsing habits. Relatively speaking, this logic should be more in line with the general needs of the public, and it is also more similar to the model of other live streaming platforms.

The live broadcast "recommendation" section is online, similar to the recommendation logic of other live broadcast platforms

6. Game Live Streaming

A game live broadcast function has been added to the new version. If you enter the live broadcast page from the video account, you can see the newly added "Game" icon in the upper right corner. After clicking this icon, two groups of games will be displayed, namely "Honor of Kings" and "Peace Elite". Select the corresponding game, set the cover and description, and you can jump to the game live broadcast status with one click. Unlike traditional screen recording live broadcasts, game live broadcasts are WeChat directly restoring the game screen in the cloud, so the performance requirements of the mobile phone itself will be much lower. At the same time, a small window will pop up during the live broadcast, which is convenient for the anchor to check the popularity, number of online people, cheers and other information in real time. However, due to copyright considerations, there may be limitations on the number of games supported in the future, which is also the biggest difference from other platforms.

Newly added "One-click game live broadcast"

7. Video Add-on Activities

In the video account release page, a new "Activity" option has been added. Clicking it will pop up an activity creation page. The fun part is that video viewers can directly participate in the host's activities through the link. In addition to increasing the video completion rate, the addition of the new function also allows operators to achieve easier management.

Video account can be attached with activities

Final Thoughts

In addition to the above "obvious" changes, the new version has also put a lot of effort into bug fixes and performance improvements. For example, the optimization of mini-program functions, Bluetooth issues, mini-game performance improvements, etc. Anyway, bug fixes are advancing, and functional changes are also practical, especially the addition of icon shortcut menus, which makes daily payments more efficient. In addition, video and live broadcasts are still the focus of this WeChat update, and of course - they are also the main development trends of WeChat in the future!