WhatsApp Finally Launches an iPad App

(Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

WhatsApp has finally released a dedicated iPad app.

The Meta-owned has been available on iPhones since its 2009 launch and landed on the Mac in 2016. However, iPad owners are limited to the web-based version of WhatsApp, which requires a cumbersome sign-in process.

As a result, those with Apple tablets have been asking for a dedicated app for years. On Monday, WhatsApp took to social media to tease the app’s arrival. A screenshot from WhatsApp also indicates the software offers the same functionality as the regular mobile app.

A big reason why it took WhatsApp so long to build an iPad app is that the chat service previously lacked a way to sync end-to-end encrypted chats across devices. Initially, the web-based WhatsApp simply mirrored conversations on your phone. But in 2021, the service began testing multi-device support, allowing users to link their accounts across devices while preserving the end-to-end encryption.

In January 2022, the head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, said multi-device support was crucial to paving the way for an eventual iPad app. “So the underlying technology is there,” he told The Verge at the time. Meta was then spotted testing a beta version of the iPad app for WhatsApp in late 2023. More than a year later, it's finally here.

Is an Instagram iPad app next?

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
Xbox 360 FTW
The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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