A fewer fortunate WhatsApp beta testers sewage a astonishing dainty this week: nan institution appears to beryllium testing a type of its iOS app that is besides optimized for nan iPad. As first spotted by WABetaInfo, type 23.19.1.71 of WhatsApp’s TestFlight app includes nan caller iPad app arsenic well.
From what we tin spot successful screenshots, nan iPad app useful precisely for illustration you’d expect. You link to it by scanning a QR codification nan aforesaid measurement you’d nexus your relationship to immoderate different device. You’ll spot a database of your conversations connected nan near and your existent chat connected nan right. It’s beautiful overmuch nan iOS app, but alternatively of seeing 1 pane astatine a time, you spot both. It almost makes you wonderment what took truthful long, particularly erstwhile WhatsApp caput Will Cathcart said each nan measurement backmost successful January of 2022 that “we’d emotion to do it.”
Meta, for immoderate reason, has ne'er liked building iPad apps. There’s still nary iPad app for Instagram aliases Threads, and moreover nan Facebook app is conscionable a poorly zoomed type of nan iPhone app. Messenger is astir nan only Meta app app pinch a half-decent iPad experience. But arsenic WhatsApp becomes much cardinal to Meta’s societal ecosystem — and arsenic nan institution tries to person businesses to usage WhatsApp for listings and customer interactions — it makes consciousness to bring nan app to iPad arsenic well.
Meta, for immoderate reason, has ne'er liked building iPad apps
The WhatsApp acquisition has gotten a batch of attraction recently. The Mac app was updated with amended group calling, HD photos and video are now supported successful nan app, Channels are rolling out to users astir nan world, and Meta has done a batch of activity to make it easier to usage your relationship connected aggregate devices. Maybe astir absorbing of all, Meta appears to beryllium moving connected making WhatsApp a cross-platform messaging service successful bid to comply pinch EU rules, which is yet different logic to make nan app disposable to arsenic galore users successful arsenic galore places arsenic possible.
It’s difficult to telephone 1 of nan planet’s astir celebrated apps a concealed weapon, but WhatsApp is surely among nan Meta products pinch nan astir potential. Meta seems to want to move it into much of a backstage societal network, letting group link pinch each different and pinch nan worldly they attraction about. (It besides desperately wants to make more inroads pinch US users.) The champion measurement to do that is to beryllium ubiquitous, truthful aft galore years of cajoling and pleading from tablet users, WhatsApp mightiness soon beryllium disposable connected your big(ger) screen.