WhatsApp has recently been added to Apple’s App Store for Mac. I know it seems weird that it wasn’t there this whole time. You’ve not gone crazy, I swear.
Back in August, WhatsApp released an entirely new app for Macs. Prior to this release, you could use WhatsApp only as a web app in a browser on a Mac, but this release meant there was a whole new native Mac app that you could download and install onto your Mac. The app also saw a major redesign, including a few new features, such as group video and audio calls that were previously only possible with an iPhone.
Weirdly enough, this app was not on Apple’s App Store for Mac. In order to install it, you’d have to head over to WhatsApp’s website. Finally, it is now available on the App Store. The WhatsApp team shared the news (via MacMagazine) and that the app is now available globally, and you can download it here.
This translates to less of a headache for Mac users, as, unlike the previous WhatsApp app for Mac, this one doesn’t require any additional software to be downloaded. It works straight out of the box. Also, native apps use fewer hardware resources, which means the new app will also help Mac users save some battery life.
WhatsApp is now running tests with a beta version for the iPad, so we hope to see soon that happens, too. It’s still a little weird that WhatsApp is just starting to make its way on the iPad, considering how popular the app and iPads are globally. But then again, we don’t have a native version of Instagram for iPad as well. So maybe it’s just a Meta thing, I guess.