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New WhatsApp beta on TestFlight includes WhatsApp Beta for iPad

By Alan Friedman

Published: Sep 19, 2023, 10:08 PM

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New WhatsApp beta on TestFlight includes WhatsApp Beta for iPad

Popular messaging app WhatsApp has never offered an app for the iPad. instead, iPad users who want to use the platform are forced to use the web version of WhatsApp using a mobile browser. That's because in the beginning there wasn't a separate iPadOS operating system for the tablets and WhatsApp didn't work with the iPad.

From time-to-time, there have been several false starts including a couple of years ago when Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (WhatsApp is owned by Meta) and WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart discussed a possible iPad app for WhatsApp in a group chat.

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Per WABetaInfo (via 9to5Mac), the latest version of the WhatsApp Beta (version 23.19.1.71), available only from Apple's TestFlight, is compatible with the iPad. You will have to be a member of the WhatsApp for iOS official beta program on TestFlight to install WhatsApp on your iPad. Once you install it, you will need to scan a QR code using your iPhone. The app will then download all of your conversations and you'll be able to send and receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

A WhatsApp app for iPad is finally coming

Once the app is installed on the iPad, users will be able to use WhatsApp on their Apple tablets regardless of whether their iPhone is nearby or not, and even if the devices aren't sharing the same Wi-Fi signal. The WhatsApp app for iPad is limited in that you cannot open a new WhatsApp account from it, similar to the version of WhatsApp made for the desktop. What it does offer is more content on the screen thanks to the larger displays.

It isn't known when the public will get access to this app and as we said, the Beta is available only from Apple's TestFlight which means that there is limited availability. But that will change as soon as WhatsApp for iPad becomes available in the App Store.

We should point out that WhatsApp's sibling, Instagram, also does not offer an app for iPad. Both WhatsApp and Instagram were purchased by what was then known as Facebook in February 2014, and April 2012 respectively.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.