Meta-owned WhatsApp is working on a new native Mac app using Apple’s Mac Catalyst development framework.
The new app has been in a closed beta for a few months but is now available as an 85.1MB download for macOS Big Sur or later on the WhatsApp website.
After installation, the app will display a QR code for users to scan with their iPhone and link the app with their account using the WhatsApp iOS app. The three-panel interface inside the Mac app offers access to archived chats, starred messages, phone calls, and settings.
The Catalyst app offers features not found in the current version, such as file drag-and-drop functionality and a spell-checker.
WhatsApp’s previous Mac app was Electron based, which is a software development framework that simplifies app development that wraps code inside a version of the Chromium browser engine. While this simplifies development, Electron apps cannot offer the same functionality as those apps built using Catalyst, which allows developers to create Mac apps that share code with their iPad version of the apps.
Meta currently doesn’t offer an iPad version of WhatsApp, so this may be an indication that an iPad version is on the way. We’ll have to wait and see.
(Via AppleInsider)
