There's a new update to the WhatsApp app for iOS, and it brings to the table some neat features owners of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus might find pleasing.

The feature in question is no other than 3D Touch, a new user experience that, for the time being, is exclusive to the Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The feature allows users to interact more deeply with the user interface of iOS, ultimately making the new iPhone devices more usable.

Users can use 3D Touch to access vital UI elements or to just gain access to key shortcuts for some apps. At the moment, the feature is limited to only a few third-party apps, but the number is rising quickly as app developers are moving fast to add support.

The latest addition to this list is WhatsApp with build 2.12.9. What users can do with 3D Touch here is similar to what they can do in other apps.

"You can now quickly Peek and Pop pictures, videos, links, contact cards and locations you send and receive in chats," states the app's iTunes page.

The new update came after Dropbox, Facebook and Instagram updated their respective iOS apps to support 3D Touch. Dropbox was the first major third-party developer to support the new iOS feature, and then others slowly began to follow its lead.

Users who are making plans to update to the new version of WhatsApp to take advantage of 3D Touch should bear in mind that they must first have the latest version of iOS installed on their iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus handset.

Other updates that came with build 2.12.9 outside of the new 3D Touch features include a fix for viewing media on older versions of iOS, along with an upgraded user interface that is now optimized for right-to-left languages like Arabic. There are other minor improvements here as well, but the WhatsApp team did not choose to share what they are.

Photo: Jan Persiel | Flickr