WhatsApp is entering its subscription era, with a new paid tier for some iPhone users called WhatsApp Plus.
While existing WhatsApp features will remain free, the subscription brings cosmetic and functional upgrades such as premium ringtones, custom icons and the ability to pin more chats.
WhatsApp is preparing to add a long-requested message scheduling feature. The app will let users compose messages in advance and send them at a chosen time, similar to how iMessage handles scheduled texts.
References to the feature popped up in the latest WhatsApp beta release on TestFlight.
A decade after Apple Watch launched, WhatsApp finally launched a dedicated app for the smartwatch Tuesday — ending years of frustration for users who could only respond to notifications from their wrist. The messaging service brings full chat functionality to your wrist with support for messages, voice notes and calls, Meta said.
A decade after the first Apple Watch came out, WhatsApp is testing a dedicated app for the smartwatch. This would make replying to messages, viewing existing conversations, and sharing voice notes easier.
Currently, Apple Watch users can only respond to unread WhatsApp messages through the notification center. There’s no way to do anything else.
Meta began rolling out in-app translation support Tuesday for WhatsApp on iPhone. In its initial phase, the feature supports 21 languages, making it easier for users to chat with their loved ones without worrying about language barriers.
Keeping security and privacy in mind, the translations happen on-device, ensuring the messages remain private.
WhatsApp now supports sharing Live Photos. The feature began rolling out a few days ago, and Meta officially confirmed its release in an announcement on September 29.
With this improvement, you can directly share Live Photos with your friends over WhatsApp without converting them into GIFs or videos first.
Taking a cue from the iPhone’s Messages app, Meta is adding message translations to WhatsApp. With this feature, you can directly translate chats in a conversation into a familiar language.
At launch, the translate tool will support over 19 languages on the iPhone.
Like its other services, Meta will bring ads to WhatsApp in the form of promoted channels and status ads.
Additionally, to support creators, WhatsApp will introduce support for channel subscriptions.
After years of waiting, WhatsApp finally landed on the iPad on Tuesday. You can now use Meta’s popular messaging service on your iPad alongside other devices.
Like on the Mac, WhatsApp’s iPad app won’t let you register with a new number. It functions solely as a companion device linked to a primary phone.
Despite its flaws, Apple Intelligence packs some useful features. Among them, Writing Tools lets you rewrite, summarize, and proofread text using AI.
Sadly, you cannot use Writing Tools to draft your Facebook posts or WhatsApp chats, as Meta blocks the use of this feature in its apps.
For the first time on an iPhone, you can set WhatsApp as the default calling and messaging app. The feature remains exclusive to the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS, but should soon expand to the public build.
WhatsApp is the first major app to adopt the necessary APIs, enabling you to replace Apple’s Phone and Messages apps on your iPhone.
Meta is working on addressing a major limitation of WhatsApp for iPhone: the lack of multi-account support. A new beta update of the app adds support for using multiple accounts within the app.
WhatsApp for Android gained multi-account support in October 2023. However, the feature never made it to the app’s iPhone version.
WhatsApp is rolling out some much-needed video and voice calling improvements to improve the experience. These include new video effects, improved video call quality, and more.
Thanks to WhatsApp’s popularity, it is used to make over 2 billion calls daily. So, these improvements should benefit a wide section of users.
WhatsApp is taking a cue from iMessage and finally adding support for voice message transcripts. This will allow the app to show transcriptions of voice notes when you cannot listen to the audio itself.
Meta beta test voice message transcription in WhatsApp for over a year before rolling it out to the public.
WhatsApp announced today that it has reached 100 million monthly active users in the US. This comes just a few months after the messaging service revealed that it is seeing double-digit growth in the US.
Despite over two billion people using WhatsApp worldwide, it has a limited US presence. However, the Meta-owned company has been working on expanding its presence in the region.
WhatsApp is introducing key improvements to video (and voice) calling on its platform for a better experience. As part of the upgrade, you can now share audio while screen sharing.
Another notable change is having group video calls with up to 32 participants on your phone or desktop. This is the same limit as FaceTime.
WhatsApp is getting a fresh new look with updated icons for a modern look. The revamped layout makes it easy to get to your chats quicker.
The refreshed WhatsApp design is rolling out for both iPhone and Android.
WhatsApp is making it easier to log into your account on your iPhone with passkey support. The feature will allow you to verify your identity through Face ID, Touch ID, or device PIN.
Once you have set up a passkey for your WhatsApp account, you can set up the app on a new iPhone through biometric authentication, skipping the SMS code entirely.
Following a request from the Chinese government, Apple has reportedly pulled WhatsApp and Threads from China’s App Store. Other Meta apps, like Facebook and Instagram, are still available for download in the country.
The Cyberspace Administration of China asked Apple to take down the two Meta apps, citing national security concerns.
WhatsApp is rolling out Chat Filters to make it easier to follow up on unread conversations. These filters allow you to swiftly go through your inbox based on unread messages or group conversations.
As WhatsApp has grown in popularity, so has the number of people and brands reaching out to you on the service. This means you’re more likely to miss out on an important message, which Chat Filters can help avoid.
Meta’s regular updates have made WhatsApp a better iMessage competitor. But the lack of an iPad app has always been the Achilles heel of the messaging service.
This could soon change as WhatsApp’s long-rumored iPad app is finally available, at least in beta.
WhatsApp just got a native Mac app that delivers a vastly superior experience than the current Electron-based app. It also supports up to eight people on video calls and 32 on audio calls.
Released Tuesday, WhatsApp’s new native Mac app makes it a better FaceTime alternative, as you can access almost the same set of features across your PC and phone.
You can now use your WhatsApp account on multiple devices. After rolling out Companion mode on WhatsApp for Android, the Meta-owned platform has made the feature available on iPhones.
WhatsApp initially announced Companion mode in late April 2023. But the feature was only available for Android users so far.
Meta’s popular messaging service, WhatsApp, is bringing an iMessage-like editing feature. You can now edit your WhatsApp messages for up to 15 minutes after sending them.
Apple introduced similar message-editing capabilities to iMessage with iOS 16. However, WhatsApp’s message editing implementation differs from iMessage in many ways.
WhatsApp is working on allowing you to transfer your chat history from one iPhone to another without iCloud. A local transfer tool will make WhatsApp chat migration faster and easier.
Currently, your WhatsApp history must be backed up to iCloud before it is transferrable to another device. This is a time-consuming process and also requires you to have enough free space in your iCloud account.