Oliver Haslam·

WhatsApp iPad App References Found In Mac Version, Could Be Coming Soon

Ever popular instant messaging app WhatsApp may have a desktop app to go along with the smartphone and web versions, but there is still one glaring omission from the service’s offerings and that is an iPad app.

There have long been rumors that WhatsApp, and parent company Facebook, have plans to bring the service to Apple’s tablets, but so far that has yet to come to fruition with users having to settle with the company’s web-app solution instead, or one of many hacks.

Now, references found within the most recent Mac version may give us an indication that an iPad version of WhatsApp is finally on the way. Discovered by WABetaInfo, which has a reasonable track record for finding things that nobody else has, has unearthed a folder included within the macOS WhatsApp app bundle which is called Tablet-iOS. As of right now there is no iPad app, suggesting that the inclusion of this folder may be a strong indication that an iPad version is in the works.

As things stand, the only way to use WhatsApp as a standalone solution is via a smartphone because accounts are tied to a phone number. Apps like the web app and macOS app connect to a smartphone and simply relay messages, and it is possible an iPad app may work in exactly the same way.

Such a move is more likely than an alternative which would see WhatsApp move away from requiring a phone number to create an account, changing its service and the way users are identified along the way. At this point we don’t really care how WhatsApp makes its way to the iPad though, we just need an app that, quite frankly, should have arrived years ago.

Come on WhatsApp, time to give the people what they want!

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