Meta has released a big update to WhatsApp on the Mac, which features a fresh look and allows you to make an audio or video call with a big group of family and friends.
As the company describes in a blog post, you can also join a group call after it’s begun, have a video call of up to eight people, or 32 on an audio call, alongside being able to keep track of messages while WhatsApp is closed.
A beta version has been available to use for the past few months with these features. But this official update, rolling out to everyone who has a previous version installed, feels snappier. There was also a long-standing bug where the app would slow down after a period of time. In our short time with it, this bug looks to have been fixed.
It’s another effort by Meta to bring one of its messaging apps to Mac with better features to line it up with WhatsApp on iOS. It might even tempt you to use this instead of Apple’s FaceTime calling app. But the question now is whether we’re about to see the same effort for Meta’s newest app — Threads.
Let’s see Threads come to the Mac - iMore’s Take
You can already download Facebook Messenger on macOS, which has a similar layout to the new update that WhatsApp brings. And while these apps are going to be useful for many who work on a Mac, me included, I’d love to see this same effort apply to a macOS version for Threads.
For those unaware, this is Meta’s alternative to X, formerly known as Twitter. After countless blunders by owner Elon Musk, Threads was released in July, and I’ve been enjoying my time there so far. You can post and follow whoever you want through Android, iOS, and the web, you just need an Instagram account to use it.
But many were used to having Twitter’s Mac app before it was abandoned earlier this year. To see the same effort from WhatsApp’s new update, apply to a Threads app on the Mac, would be great too.
Instead of using another tab for Threads in Safari, as I currently do, I could post and scroll within an app, while being able to receive notifications for any mentions, follows, or reposts.
With Threads bringing out new features every fortnight so far, it may only be a matter of time before we see this. But for the time being, I’m happy to use WhatsApp on my Mac without reaching for my iPhone as I’m checking emails and looking through our forums.
