It looks like the iPad version of WhatsApp is finally upon us. Meta, the company behind Facebook and WhatsApp, has made a beta version available. You need to know this.
WhatsApp for iPad
Actually, it’s too bizarre for that. WhatsApp has been around since 2009, and a year later, in 2010, the first iPad was released. It would have been logical if WhatsApp had already released a version for the tablet, but due to the hard link to a telephone number, this was not really possible. The takeover by Facebook a number of years also did not bring the necessary capacity to make the iPad version.
But now, 14 years after WhatsApp’s initial release, something of a milestone has been reached when it comes to the iPad version of the popular messenger. For the first time, an official beta is available. Whether you can participate in this and what that means for the final release? iPhoned talk to you for a moment.
Also read: How to use WhatsApp Web on your iPad: this is how you do it
Beta version is available
The beta version of WhatsApp for iPad is now available via TestFlight. TestFlight is a service from Apple that allows developers to distribute beta versions for testing purposes. Places are strictly limited, so you cannot simply register. However, from WABetaInfo we were already able to collect some information about the app.
As previously expected, WhatsApp’s iPad app is quite similar to the Mac version. On the left you see your different conversations, on the right the conversation appears. The app makes excellent use of the larger screen of the tablet.
Unfortunately, WhatsApp on the iPad cannot work completely independently. You must always scan a QR code in WhatsApp on your phone, only then will all conversations be downloaded. It is not possible to create a new WhatsApp account. After logging in with your existing account, the iPad version works without having to have your iPhone with WhatsApp nearby. In fact, your phone may even be turned off. That was different in the past – for example, the Mac app only functioned as a kind of ‘remote control’ for WhatsApp on your iPhone.
Is the release near?
The fact that a beta version is available indicates that the release will not take too long. Depending on how stable and smoothly the beta runs, we could see a final release by the end of the year.
On the other hand, it took a year for the beta version of the Mac app before the final version was available. On the other hand, WhatsApp could now reuse large parts of the Mac app for the iPad version. If you ask us, we’re guessing the app will be released in early December.
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