Real-time messaging and In-app chat development have significantly gotten easier and faster over the last decade. We at CometChat have been pushing the boundaries on how fast one can add real-time engagement capabilities to their product without compromising on it being feature-rich, secure and on-brand.
Promising a feature-rich, secure, and on-brand experience, CometChat introduced UI Kits into the Chat SDK space in 2021. The innovation spurred a ripple effect across the industry, with major players following suit. Each subsequent update since the introduction of the UI Kits has been focused on providing an out-of-the-box, developer-friendly real-time engagement suite that helps drive key business metrics through chat, messaging, and voice & video.
The continuous innovation and pursuit of excellence significantly reduced the time-to-market for fully developed messaging modules for products. And with our latest update, we're challenging the conventional benchmarks and redefining what they could look like. So, let's dive into the depths of the biggest update to our UI Kits.
The Big Update
Our latest upgrade (V4) transcends mere enhancements to the previous version. It represents a foundational re-architecture of our UI kits module. Our vision with the UI Kits has always been to deliver a pre-built, best-in-class UI integrated with fundamental business logic. Despite significant adoption from our customers, some preferred designing their own UI and integrating with our SDKs. Our product team evaluated these use cases, and reimagined our UI Kits, and the result is an out-of-the-box capability that caters to all these edge cases.
So, What Has Changed?
Modular UI Components
We've transformed each element of our UI into standalone, customizable UI components, allowing developers the flexibility to pick and choose the features they need and customize each element to match their aesthetic preferences.
Every building block of a real-time messaging module, from chat bubbles, reactions, call buttons, file attachments, user profiles, display pictures, and more, is now an individual UI component. This empowers developers to construct their UI using these atomic building blocks in any combination they desire, unrestrained by standard designs or sample apps. 
Easier Development with Package Managers
Say goodbye to the tedious task of copying and pasting code! We're moving away from code repositories, branches, commits, and pull requests to simplify the development process.
The new CometChat UI Kits V4 will be accessible via package managers such as NPM, Cloudsmith, and pub.dev, automating the process of installing, updating, and configuring modules.
The V3 version of the UI Kits was open-source and not easily upgradable once changes were made to the source code. With the V4 version, customers can extend the packages so that their code remains unaffected, even if the UI Kits go through a minor version upgrade or bug fix.
Customizable Design and Themes
Imagine a world where your chat interface doesn't feel like an afterthought, but a seamless part of your app's universe. That's the reality with CometChat's UI Kits V4. Every UI component can be tailored to your brand's look and feel. It's almost like your app just discovered its sartorial style!
CometChat UI Kits V4 offers a versatile toolkit, allowing developers to easily modify components of the design theme such as colour palette, font, typography, buttons, etc., as per their brand’s guidelines.
Customisable message templates
As chat becomes more integrated into the core product, delivering key functionalities as part of your chat experience is now table stakes.
We're turning the page in the history of 'Hello, World!' and entering an era where your messaging can be as unique as your app. A fitness app sharing meal plan cards? Done. An e-commerce app sharing product cards? Absolutely. This update is like having your own custom stationery for chats.
What More Can You Do with the UI Kits V4?
In addition to the foundational changes, the V4 upgrade introduces several new features, notably enhancing the functionality and customizability of your real-time engagement suite.
Modular Chat and Call Modules:
Understanding that not all apps require both chat and call functionalities, we've made it possible to separate the wheat from the chaff. With V4, you can keep the chat and leave the call, resulting in a leaner and faster app. Think of this as a Marie Kondo moment for your app — only keep what sparks joy!
Streamlined Access to Extensions:
With the V4 update, selected extensions are automatically enabled when they are activated for the application on the admin dashboard. This does not require an application upgrade on the end user devices, a functionality not available in the V3 UI Kits. Some extensions benefiting from this feature include Profanity filter, Data masking, Image moderation, Thumbnail generation, Stickers, Polls, Message reaction, Message translation, and more.
Roll Out an Enhanced Messaging Experience:
The V4 upgrade comes bearing gifts — new UX features ready to take your users' chat experience from good to 'Wow, that's slick!' Here is a list of what you can expect in v4:
Selecting a user from a group and starting or visiting an existing chat with that user
Ability to record and send voice messages
Ability to delete conversations
Threaded messages support
Ability to select a conversation from a recent chat
Ability to transfer group ownership to another group member
Ability to disable read receipts
Share message
Send message privately
Ability to see delivery and read status of messages
And finally..
Light Up the Dark Mode:
Because we know that some of the best codes are written in the dark. The V4 UI Kits support Dark Mode, letting your users choose their preferred chat ambience.
How to get started?
While some of our customers have had access to the beta version of v4 UI kits for a while now, Our UI Kits V4 is ready to take center stage. We recommend our existing users get on board this express train for a far more enhanced end-user experience and easier developer enhancements. Need assistance? Our support and solution engineering team is always ready to lend a hand, or code.
As always, developer experience is a top priority here at CometChat. Here is detailed documentation of how to get the most out of UI Kits v4 across all the frameworks we support
Flutter UI Kit v4
So, buckle up, and let's hit the road to build something awesome!
Shrimithran
Director of Inbound Marketing , CometChat
