Native WhatsApp for macOS goes into public beta

WhatsApp didn’t have a real desktop version until recently – Windows and Mac apps just wrapped the web version in an Electron shell. That changed last year when Windows got a native version and a native version for macOS entered beta. Initially, this was a closed beta available only to TestFlight participants, but now anyone (with a Mac) can get it.

You can download it from the official website, it is available for macOS Big Sur and newer. The site warns that this version is still at an early stage of development.

Native WhatsApp for macOS goes into public beta

Interestingly, the WhatsApp team used Apple’s Mac Catalyst framework, which makes it easier for developers to build apps that run on both iPadOS and macOS. It’s curious because there is no WhatsApp version for iPad (instead, users are supposed to use the web version). Maybe that will change once this app comes out of beta.

Either way, the native app should run faster and be more efficient on Mac hardware (the same goes for the Windows version), so it’s good to see the older version of Electron disappear.

spring | Via