One of the objectives for WhatsApp this year, apart from earning the ire of users following a poorly communicated change to its policy, is the move to support greater collaboration between devices and ecosystems.
An example of such a move is the recent beta testing on chat syncing across multiple devices sans smartphone.
Now WhatsApp is reportedly readying to port its platform over to a new ecosystem – the iPad. While unconfirmed by Facebook (which owns WhatsApp) at the time of writing, screenshots shared online by WABetaInfo, point to the application being developed to run natively on an Apple tablet, provided it is running a compatible version of iPadOS, which is yet to be determined at this stage.
According to WABetaInfo, which cites an unofficial source that is privy to the plans, both iPads and Android tablets will be able to be used linked devices to a WhatsApp account. It also will run natively as apposed to via the web or some sort of browser, along with being able to function independently, which means your phone does not need to be active in order to utilise the functionality of the messaging platform.
• Is WhatsApp for iPad a web app? No, it's a native app!
• Will WhatsApp for iPad work independently? Yes.
• Is WhatsApp for iPad already available? No.
• WhatsApp beta for iPad? If you have WhatsApp beta for iOS, you will automatically have the iPad version in the future. https://t.co/aQYBBtW7Sb— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) August 21, 2021
While this is a relatively small move for some, the fact that users, especially WhatsApp for Business users, could use the platform on a tablet, may prove useful indeed. It would offer the increased real estate over a smartphone, while not needing a desktop either, sitting somewhere in the middle while adding the mobility that some are looking for.
Yes, the vast majority of people use WhatsApp purely to stay in contact with friends and family, but an increasing number of users are seeing WhatsApp as a true business tool. Therefore adding support for more devices sans a smartphone makes sense.
For now there’s no word on when the linked device support will be rolled out, but WABetaInfo believes it could arrive soon via a global update.
