[explodes]

Given the international presence of WhatsApp, I was almost willing to bet that this would be a big deal, however the features to this plan are really lame. Exclusive stickers and changing app theme for a monthly fee is not what I expected.

I expected a mid-range plan that increases the communication features and maybe also some of these "fun" features. I was certain it would have enabled partnerships with mobile network operators to include add-ons to plans that include WhatsApp premium. This is still possible, but "free WhatsApp stickers" when you pay more per month isn't the power move I was expecting from such a global force.

That said, the low cost of premium is critical because so many people world-wide use WhatsApp because a data-only plan is cheaper than data and cell service. The low price point is amazing.

In hindsight I guess I don't know why I expected more amazing features, but this doesn't seem like the game changer I was expecting and hoping for.

[fwn]

I was surprised by the superficiality of the Plus benefits as well, which led me to submit the article to HN at all. (That is maybe why there is still no official WhatsApp blog post about it.)

I expected something that would increase lock-in. Maybe a more capable version of their AI feature. I'm not sure. There is also AFAIK no success story for monetizing messaging yet, beyond what Telegram is doing.