Seems WhatsApp is determined not to discriminate between the Apple and iOS users & hence the widely used cross-platform mobile messaging app releases features one by one for both the platforms. Just a few days ago, WhatsApp launched the voicemail and call back features for the iOS users and then it made way to the Google Play Store. But actually both these features were expected to get rolled for the Android platform first.
Similarly, just recently WhatsApp has introduced the feature to share Videos as Animated Gif Images in its Beta version for Android and this feature was indeed expected to go live on iOS first. Whatever, but all assumptions have been met and finally the .gif images are ready to be shared in WhatsApp. This feature was first reported by Android Police which stated in its report that the said feature is only available for the Android users running beta versions 2.16.242 to 2.16.244. So the latest WhatsApp version for Android on Google Play will be compatible for this feature.
So now you must wonder how to use this feature on your WhatsApp messenger! Very simple in fact. To initiate a .Gif sharing, the WhatsApp for Android Beta users have to select the “attachment icon” located at the top of a chat screen in the app. From there, the users have to select the “attachment” option and need to select “record video.” The video you record must be maximum 6 seconds. Before sending the video, the “trimming video” page will appear with a camcorder icon located on the top right corner. Once you select that icon, your video will be converted to a gif image. Now you can send this to the users. This option too appears when you select a video of 6 seconds or less, but will not appear if the video is more than 6 seconds.
As reported by Android Police, the files are actually converted as audio-less MP4 files and also transmitted in the same status. Once you send the .gif, the file is saved under WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Animated Gifs as mp4 files. The front end user receives an alert that a gif image has been received and it too appears in the chat tab.