Facebook’s authorized popular smartphone messaging app, WhatsApp is now off to provide its users with its services on computer’s desktop.
INSIGHT: It will be familiar to those who’ve used WhatsApp on the Web, as it mimics much of the UI and UX.
TUESDAY: As per latest reports, WhatsApp released apps for Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8/10 for PCs and Apple Inc.’s OS X for Mac computers. The reason why people would love to install this desktop version is that it comes with a key smartphone feature – i.e. live notifications, crucial for real-time chat and favorite keyboard shortcuts.
WhatsApp is reported to be easily accessible on every major operating system like Apple’s iOS, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG, GOOGL, Android, BlackBerry and Windows phone.
UPDATE: This messaging service bearing more than 1 billion users globally could be an evident threat to competitors like Apple’s *iMessage and Microsoft’s Skype.
(*the service let users receive messages on a Mac and iOS mobile device, however it is absent on Windows PCs and Android phones)
On a related note, Facebook Messenger is available on mobile (in the Web and as a Windows 8 or 10 app), however it doesn’t have an official operating system app till today. Likewise, Google’s alternative, Hangouts never got itself fixed amid populist options.
How to log into the app?
Users need to scan a QR code using WhatsApp mobile app. After this ste, entire chats will get updates.
A desktop feature might sound nothing special, but messaging apps derive part of their power from ubiquity — the more places users can access them, the more often they’ll get their hands on them.
This app includes “Like WhatsApp Web, our desktop app is simply an extension of your phone: the app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device.” WhatsApp press release