Meta confirmed plans to eventually release an iPad-only version of WhatsApp last year, shortly after releasing a rebuilt macOS app from scratch. A beta version of the iPad app was released in late September, but a year later, WhatsApp for iPad is still in beta.
Meta doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to iPad apps. Only the first of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads has an iPadOS app, but it’s been years since the app last received a significant update. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri suggested last year that the iPad was not a priority for the company.
At the same time, the WhatsApp team seemed a little more committed to the Apple platform. The Electron version of the desktop app has been discontinued in favor of a new app built specifically for the Mac that runs better on Apple Silicon machines.
To give us more hope, WhatsApp has released a beta version of its iPad app, which has been highly requested by WhatsApp users. While you can run the iPhone versions of Instagram and Threads on iPadOS, installing WhatsApp on an iPad is simply not possible. Similar to the Mac app, users can link their WhatsApp accounts on the iPad to access all their conversations.
Unfortunately, a year has passed and there’s still no sign that WhatsApp plans to release an iPad version on the App Store any time soon. 9to5 mac now has access to the beta version of WhatsApp for iPadOS. Although it has the same functionality as the iPhone app, the iPad version is still buggy and crashes frequently.
It’s unclear at this time if Meta is struggling to fix these bugs or if the project to release an iPad version is on hold. But the second scenario wouldn’t be surprising given that the company doesn’t seem to care about the iPad.
Do you miss having the Meta app on your iPad? Let us know in the comments section below.
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