WhatsApp Finally Cuts the iPhone Cord for iPad Users
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While iMessage may arguably be more popular in the US, WhatsApp still dominates the globe when it comes to messaging apps, and this week it released a pretty substantial update to improve the user experience for folks in the Apple ecosystem.
In a blog post yesterday, WhatsApp announced that it’s enhanced its CarPlay experience, added Apple Music integration, and — for the first time — opened the door to let folks sign up without an iPhone or Android smartphone.
That last one is a bigger change than it may sound at first glance. While WhatsApp pre-dates iMessage on the iPhone by about two years, it’s remained stubbornly tied to a phone number for its entire life. Even as WhatsApp introduced standalone desktop apps and, finally, an iPad app last year, you still had to sign up for a new account from your iPhone, since it needed to verify your phone number.
However, this week’s update lets users sign up for a new account directly in the iPad app — without the need to link it to your iPhone at all.
Since we announced WhatsApp for iPad last year, one of the biggest things we’ve heard from people is wanting to create a WhatsApp account directly on their iPad, without needing to link to their phone. Now you can. Register for WhatsApp directly on the iPad app, set up your account, and you’re in.
While the company doesn’t go into any further details, it’s a safe bet this is linked to the rollout of WhatsApp Usernames. The messaging service began accepting pre-reservations for these at the end of June, giving folks an opportunity to claim a preferred username before the feature went live. While that’s still ongoing (we’ve heard reports of some folks having their usernames turned on, but alas, we’re still waiting), now that WhatsApp has given everyone enough time to claim their stake, new users will presumably be able to sign up from an iPad with any username that’s still available.
WhatsApp says it’s also “revamped” the improved CarPlay experience that rolled out earlier this year, allowing users to “hear and respond to messages, make calls, see your call history, and reach your favorites,” from the dashboard. However, it’s not entirely clear what’s changed here, as all those features were available in April, so this might be nothing more than the official announcement of a feature that had flown under the radar until now.
Integration with Apple Music (and Spotify) now allows you to share whatever you’re listening to directly in your WhatsApp Status for a bit of unique flair.
Sharing music is a way of expressing yourself, and now you can easily share a song straight from Apple Music or Spotify to your WhatsApp Status. With just a couple of taps, your friends can see what you’re into right now, making your Status even more uniquely you.
Rather than sharing from within WhatsApp, you initiate the process directly from the Apple Music app. Just use the built-in “Share” option — for an entire song or selected lyrics — and choose “WhatsApp Status” as your target instead of the standard WhatsApp icon.
Lastly, WhatsApp is baking in an integrated PDF viewer, letting you not only open PDFs without having to download them, but also make highlights and annotations. This will be limited to the web and desktop, as it’s powered by Adobe Acrobat.
