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Thanks to IT Home readers lifync and 爱咕咕的老咕咕 for the tips!
IT Home reported on November 14 that the HarmonyOS version of WeChat has released version 8.0.23.38 (8394534) for invitation-only testing through Huawei AppGallery (installation requires receiving a text message, then tapping its link). The test runs from 2026/11/13 to 2026/12/13.
As usual, the update notes still say “Fixed some known issues.” According to blogger @伤心萨摩耶Ciuciu and MeoW, new features found in WeChat 8.0.23 include, but are not limited to, the following (IT Home note: these are not limited to 8.0.23.38):
0. Some cross-platform Flutter pages, such as Moments and Listen, respond to the system font weight setting;
1. A ringtone settings entry has been added to the upper right of the ringtone selection screen, allowing personalized content recommendations to be enabled or disabled;
2. An option to add a label has been added when posting Channels content and when tapping Share on published Channels content;
3. A search button has been added under Discover > Live > More Live Streams;
4. A floating button for the Xiao Wei branch has been added to the lower right of the Listen home page. It displays prompts based on the current page content for quick access to related Ask Xiao Wei features. Ask Xiao Wei has also been added to the Share menu on the playback page (the floating button on the lower right of the home page is being rolled out gradually);
5. The Official Accounts icon has been refreshed to match other platforms;
6. Information including friends’ nicknames, group nicknames, remarks, WeChat IDs and regions can be copied by pressing and holding;
7. Articles posted by followed Service Accounts in the Service Accounts feed can be pressed and held to choose to unfollow the account or delete the article message;
8. The button for photos and videos from this chat, shown at the lower right when opening a photo or video in a chat, has changed appearance (this was confirmed to be a bug and was fixed in 8.0.23.33);
8. Forward has been added to the press-and-hold menu for recommended image posts under Service Accounts feed > Recommended;
9. Ask Xiao Wei has been added to chat tools (rolling out gradually; the account must be included in the staged rollout of the main Xiao Wei feature);
10. Live stream pages can display how many people have forwarded or shared the current stream;
11. The Listen floating icon has a new appearance;
12. When viewing a group member’s profile in a group chat where you have management permissions, the nickname of the member who invited them, shown under How They Joined, is now blue and tappable;
13. Moments like Easter eggs set on other platforms can be displayed;
14. Ask Xiao Wei has been added to the Share menu for Channels content (rolling out gradually; the account must be included in the staged rollout of the main Xiao Wei feature);
15. The red text in Service Account notification reminders now includes the names of Service Accounts with new notifications, changing from [n messages] to [xxx and others, n messages];
16. Import has been added to the upper right of Group Payments, allowing bills, group sign-up lists and past group payments to be imported when starting a group payment (rolling out gradually; supported in version 8.0.22 and later);
17. More Information has been added under Official Account / Service Account home page > … in the upper right, where users can view the account description, follow date, basic information, name history, authorized third-party services and other information;
18. A mini-program order authorization switch has been added under Shops and Cards > … in the upper right > Settings > Privacy Settings. When enabled, mini-program order information will sync to Shops and Cards > Orders (hot update);
19. After muting group messages, group settings now include Still Notify for These Messages, allowing notifications for messages that @mention me or @mention everyone, group announcements and messages from specified group members even while group messages are muted (rolling out gradually);
20. Message Alert Sounds has been added under Settings > Message Notifications, allowing users to choose from 7 built-in WeChat alert sounds (rolling out gradually);
21. Login Device Management has been added under Settings > Account Security. Users can remove login devices; logging in on a removed device then requires security verification (rolling out gradually);
22. Yuanbao > Explore More now supports opening the app marketplace to download the Yuanbao app (hot update);
23. Scan has incorporated the Xiao Wei branch, adding a flip-camera button in the upper right and Take a Photo for AI at the bottom, with support for recognition, translation, Remember This Moment and Remember a Friend (rolling out gradually; the Xiao Wei branch has a separate staged rollout);
24. Likes, Favorites and Recently Read have been added under Service Accounts > Personal Center, recording image posts liked, saved and recently read (the feature was added across 3 platforms simultaneously; it displays only image posts published by image-post accounts, not those published by Official Accounts; added in version 8.0.23.33 or 34);
25. Some Channels videos can display a floating Xiao Wei branch shortcut for asking questions in the lower right (hot update; only some videos support this display, while videos without the floating Xiao Wei branch question shortcut show the original floating search shortcut);
26. AI Writing Help from the Xiao Wei branch has been added when posting to Moments (rolling out gradually);
27. Playlist source categories (WeChat Music / QQ Music / Kugou Music) have been added under Listen > Personal Playlists. Users can link QQ Music / Kugou Music accounts and sync songs saved on those platforms (My Likes) to Listen (rolling out gradually; access to Music Space through the staged rollout is a prerequisite. See item 19 for 8.0.16 for details of the prerequisite; users can activate it by having a friend who already has Music Space create a space and invite them to join);
28. The layout and behavior of Discover > Live have been reworked and aligned. The More Live Streams entry has been removed, the search button has moved to the main screen, and more personalized or limited-time categories have been added, including Double 11, dramas, beauty and news (rolling out gradually; some category types are not fixed and vary by account);
29. A Shop Coins tab has been added under Me > Shops and Cards, where users can check in to collect coins (rolling out gradually);
30. Time Radio has been added under Listen > Personal Playlists > 🎧 Immersive Listening in the upper right (rolling out gradually; requires access to the main Xiao Wei feature through the staged rollout);
31. AI Summary has been added beneath Official Account article titles, a floating AI Summary button has been added to the lower right while scrolling through an article, and Ask AI has been added when selecting text by pressing and holding (requires updating to version 8.0.23.35 or later);
32. When scanning a QR code to log in to WeChat on a HarmonyOS computer, users can choose to log in automatically on that device (rolling out gradually; the HarmonyOS computer must be updated to version 4.1.13 or later);
33. Ask Xiao Wei has been added when tapping Share on an Official Account article or image post (requires access to the main Xiao Wei feature through the staged rollout and an update to version 8.0.23.35 or later);
34. Ask Xiao Wei has been added to the menu shown by pressing and holding a chat message (requires access to the main Xiao Wei feature through the staged rollout and an update to version 8.0.23.35 or later);
35. Xiao Wei Summary has been added to the menu shown by pressing and holding a web link message or document file in a chat (requires access to the main Xiao Wei feature through the staged rollout and an update to version 8.0.23.35 or later);
36. Ask Xiao Wei has been added to the menu shown by pressing and holding an image in an Official Account article or image post (requires access to the main Xiao Wei feature through the staged rollout and an update to version 8.0.23.35 or later);
37. AI Processing has been added when tapping a chat image to view it full size and when editing an image (rolling out gradually);
38. Notification Settings has been added to the upper right of Service Notifications, with switches for muting messages and playing voice reminders (rolling out gradually);
39. For some articles or image posts, a floating keyword search or Ask Xiao Wei button appears in the lower right while scrolling through the content or after it has been open for 3 seconds (supported in version 8.0.23.35 and later);
40. Group announcement messages support notification reminders (hot update);
41. Users can invite friends to try Xiao Wei (rolling out gradually to a small group; the account must already have access to the main Xiao Wei feature through the staged rollout);
42. The Services > Wallet > Identity Information screen has been refreshed and reworked (hot update);
43. Most Frequently Reminded has been added when choosing people to notify in a group chat, showing members recently @mentioned (rolling out gradually; appears after the account is included in the staged rollout and has used an @mention once);
44. Under Discover > Games > Circles, selecting the circle for a mobile game supports launching the corresponding game if it has an adapted HarmonyOS version;
45. Fixed some known issues.
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