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WhatsApp is finally ready to launch its native app for iPad users and the new beta version for iOS confirms its imminent availability. Having a native app means you don’t need the WhatsApp account mirrored through the phone to the iPad, and just like the web version, you can use the messaging app without any pairing.

Having said that, you will need to use the Linked Devices feature to pair with your account on the iPad using the regular QR code format, to use WhatsApp on the iPad. People have been asking for an iPad version of WhatsApp for many years and it seems the wait is going to end for the public very soon. The iPad-compatible WhatsApp has been spotted in TestFlight, as per the tip from Wabetainfo this week.

The beta version is only available for select testers as of now, and once they report all the possible bugs and issues, WhatsApp will polish the problems before giving it a public release, which should happen before the end of the year.

The tipster has also shared a screen of the new WhatsApp on iPad which is similar to the website, where you have the chat screen on the right and the contacts list on the left side. You can also see the video and audio call options at the top-right of the screen, which suggests the messaging will offer these features from day one.

However, WhatsApp on iPad will not support live location or posting status update features, at least for now. To use the WhatsApp iPad version, you will need to have the WhatsApp beta version running on the iPhone as well as the iPad and like we said, once you Link the iPad to your WhatsApp account, you don’t need to mirror the phone app to the tablet to use the messaging app.

He also points out that all the Linked devices including the iPad will be synced with the latest messages and you will get reliable end-to-end encryption on all the platforms.