WhatsApp launched in 2009, but there’s never been a native app for the iPad —until now. On Tuesday, May 27, WhatsApp revealed that the new app is here. Here’s what makes the iPad and WhatsApp so great together.
WhatsApp comes to the iPad. Finally.
In a blog post, WhatsApp described it as “one of our biggest requests,” and declared that the app is now available on iPad. The company was keen to point out that all the key features are here, such as making “video and audio calls with up to 32 people, share your screen, and use both front and back cameras,” it said.
There’s no clue as to exactly what took so long — parent company Meta has been teasing that the app would be coming soon, and I’ve personally been agitating for its arrival for at least four years.
But let’s look on the bright side, it’s here now, and maybe the wait until is good news (except for the impatient among us).
That’s because the iPad’s features have been growing recently, with the addition of multitasking capabilities such as Stage Manager, though this is not on all iPads. WhatsApp notes that “Stage Manager is available on iPad Pro with M4, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) and iPad Air (5th generation), iPad Air 11-inch (M2 and later), iPad Air 13-inch (M2 and later),” and you’ll notice that the regular iPad is not admitted to the Stage Manager party.
Still, there’s also Split View and Slide Over to allow you to have WhatsApp open alongside another app, allowing you to surf the web at the same time as messaging on WhatsApp.
Optimized for the larger display of the iPad, the new WhatsApp app works with the Magic Keyboard, so it’s as easy to type messages as it is on the Mac, but also, uniquely, with the Apple Pencil.
It remains as secure as ever: “protecting your personal messages, calls and media with end-to-end encryption, no matter what platform or device you’re messaging. Our extra layers of privacy, such as chat lock, mean that you can have private conversations in confidence even if you share your iPad with others,” WhatsApp says.
These capabilities together make for a seamlessly smooth experience, besting the iPhone for screen real estate and the Mac for touchscreen capabilities. What’s not to like?
