WhatsApp Introduces New iPad App in Beta

The latest beta version of WhatsApp for iOS is finally adding native support for the iPad, as reported by WABetaInfo. This has been a popular request for many years, and despite having over 2 billion users, WhatsApp has never been concerned about web-based third-party WhatsApp apps topping the charts on the iPad App Store.

As you can see from the following screenshot, the iPad version of WhatsApp uses a familiar two-pane layout with the list of conversations on the left and the current conversation chat on the right, with a navigation bar at the bottom left corner. After linking your account with the iPhone app, the WhatsApp app on iPad can be used independently, similar to how the Windows and Mac apps now work.

It’s not clear why it took so many years for WhatsApp to create a native iPad experience, but Instagram would be really inspired to do the same. Despite being much more visual, the Instagram team has also never bothered to release a native iPad app where Instagram content would really shine.

If you can’t wait to test this new WhatsApp app for iPad, it appears that there are currently no seats left on the beta program that relies on Apple’s Testflight app. Unfortunately, the WhatsApp team usually doesn’t communicate on new beta features, and we don’t know yet when this new iPad app will become generally available.

In other WhatsApp-related news, the team announced yesterday that WhatsApp Channels are now available across 180 countries. Channels let you follow select organizations and public figures in a private manner, and channel messages are accessible in the Updates tab where Status updates (WhatsApp’s take on ephemeral stories) are also available;