There’s lots going on with WhatsApp at the moment, and it’s hard to keep up with what’s actually happening and what’s rumour. The latest – which is probably going to turn out as true – is that WhatsApp is working on a desktop client for Mac and Windows.
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WABetaInfo noticed the reference in WhatsApp’s code – as it does routinely – and let the cat out of the bag. Allegedly, WhatsApp is allegedly working on desktop clients for different operating systems. Of course none of these rumours are actually substantiated or confirmed, so whether the company will be launching a desktop client or not can’t be proven at this point.
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At the moment it seems logical for a move like this, although many users are happy using the browser-based client. I would actually like to have a desktop client, but many other users would disagree. There are times when many users would like to separate the use of their mobile device from WhatsApp. I am one of those users. Creating a standalone client would make WhatsApp independent of a mobile device and would open it to many new features.
You can see these screenshots. #WhatsApp #Mac #Windows #NativeClient #iOS #Android #WP #Blackberry #Symbian #Nokia pic.twitter.com/AKja58zf5C
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) April 29, 2016
WhatsApp’s further feature development seems to be close to the top of Facebook’s priorities at the moment, as it’s really going strong in terms of user-acquisition. With voice and video reportedly in the pipeline, a standalone client would make sense to stand up against apps like Slack or Skype. Yet, with WhatsApp’s wider goals not entirely clear, we can’t do anything but speculate as to how it might position itself – as a consumer messaging app, or a business app?
What do you think?