Two weeks after WABetaInfo discovered that multi-device compatibility for WhatsApp was coming, the platform is now releasing version 2.21.150.11 with this feature enabled for some beta testers of the app.
According to the site, multi-device compatibility is rolling out for more iOS beta testers, although some users might not be eligible yet.
When this feature is available to all users, people will be able to use WhatsApp on four different devices and one mobile phone, which means you’ll be able to use WhatsApp on the Mac even without your iPhone on or connected to the internet.
With multi-device compatibility, users are able to use WhatsApp Web, desktop version, and Portal without an internet connection or the user’s main phone.
This is probably the way WhatsApp will finally release an iPad version, as it has been rumored for about three years now.
You can verify if multi-device is enabled for your WhatsApp account by opening the app Settings > Linked Devices; if you see a new row called multi-device, it means you can finally join the beta program!
WABetainfo also warns that this beta version might not properly work with multi-device compatibility for now:
- Pinned chats: they aren’t immediately synced, so you need to manually search for them the first time in order to show them up.
- Live locations: they might not be visible on linked devices.
- If you join the beta program on WhatsApp Business, your business name and labels cannot be modified from Web and Desktop apps.
- You cannot chat and call people having an old WhatsApp version on their phone, from Web/Desktop apps. Just tell them to update WhatsApp from the Google Play Store or App Store.
Recently, in an interview with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, they said that “it’s been a big technical challenge to get all your messages and content to sync.” Luckily, all users will be able to use this feature rather sooner than later.