Hardware Ready Ready to Bench?
WhatsApp iOS. WhatsApp has begun rolling out a new feature to iOS users that enables image expansion using artificial intelligence. This function is designed to extend an image beyond its original boundaries directly within the application, without the need to resort to external apps.
Currently, this novelty is available only to a limited number of users, specifically those participating in the testing program via TestFlight, but some users of the main app version can also access it. The option is located within the integrated photo editor and leverages the power of Meta AI to reconstruct missing portions of the shot.
WhatsApp iOS: why it matters
This feature is not entirely new, as iPhone users with access to Apple Intelligence can already use the native tool called Extend, which allows images to be extended in a similar manner. Similar solutions are also available in chatbots like ChatGPT and in professional photo editing platforms like Photoshop. WhatsApp now introduces this same logic within its app, offering a significant advantage: the ability to edit and share photos directly within conversations.
How image expansion works on WhatsApp
The process is quite intuitive. When selecting a photograph within a chat, WhatsApp opens the drawing editor – the same environment where it is already possible to apply various AI-based effects to enhance images. Among these tools, an option dedicated to photo enlargement now appears. Selecting it, Meta AI takes a few seconds to analyze the shot and generate the extended version, without requiring further intervention from the user.
Once processing is complete, the result is displayed directly in the editor, allowing the user to decide whether or not to send it. The feature is not limited to individual conversations but is also compatible with status updates. This means that images expanded with artificial intelligence can be published in the dedicated statuses section, alongside content shared with contacts.
A practical detail increases the flexibility of the tool: if the expansion result does not meet expectations, an undo button can be used to revert the photo to its original version. From there, users can retry with the same tool and obtain a different result, choosing the most successful option without having to reload the image or start from scratch.
Arrival times still uncertain
As often happens with features in testing on WhatsApp, no specific date has been provided for large-scale release. Distribution timelines therefore remain unknown, and it is not possible to know with certainty when the tool will be available to all iOS users, nor whether the release will occur in a single step or gradually.
However, some signals suggest that the wait may not be excessively long. The feature is already present in the Android beta, and a portion of public version iOS users can already use it. For this reason, a wider distribution of photo expansion with Meta AI could happen soon.
Source and further reading on WhatsApp iOS: original article.
* Content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems.