WhatsApp is working on adding multi-device support, with a beta of the messaging app revealing it will finally work on an iPad, years after the service's launch.
WhatsApp has always allowed iPhone owners and other smartphone users to use the service, but the Facebook-owned messenger does not currently have an iPad app available. In a beta currently being tested, it appears that the situation will soon change.
A Saturday tweet by @WABetainfo reveals that "multi-device 2.0" is included in the latest beta. The feature currently enables WhatsApp to be used across multiple devices, including in a browser and desktop, but not with a native WhatsApp app for iPadOS.
The second-generation version of the feature will use a native version of the app for iPadOS to enable the multi-device support, rather than using a browser. It is claimed the iPad version will work independently, though conversations should also synchronize between the iPhone and iPad as well.
Though mentioned in the beta, there's no separate iPadOS app for testing yet. People enrolled in the beta will automatically get the iPadOS app once it rolls out in testing, the source claims.
NEWS: WhatsApp is finally working on multi-device 2.0, and you can use iPad as new linked device
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) August 20, 2021
Android tablets are also planned to support multi-device on WhatsApp for Android!
It's under development and it will be released in a future update. Follow me to discover more pic.twitter.com/rND4xQfBDj
In a July report for TechRadar, a WhatsApp spokesperson confirmed that existing multi-device support relied on mirroring off a smartphone to function, and so needed the iPhone to be turned on and connected to the Internet to function. Under multi-device 2.0, the spokesperson confirmed the apps would continue to work, but without the need for the host smartphone to be active.
News of the change arrives just over a week after WhatsApp announced a feature to enable the transfer of chat histories between iOS and Android devices. In July, it also beta-tested changes to group calls on iOS, as well as account review notifications.
5 Comments
About time, I think I will be 100 before they do the same for Instagram.
I agree, it’s about time. I can’t get the web app version to work. Any suggestion?
So whatsapp 2022 will almost have the functionality of iMessage 2011?
A long overdue but welcome addition.