WhatsApp’s new native Mac app is now in open beta

Illustration: The Verge

WhatsApp’s new macOS app is now widely available for download, WABetaInfo reports, and can be grabbed from the official WhatsApp website.

The messaging service has previously offered a web wrapped version of its web app as a macOS app, but the new version is a native app that makes more efficient use of system resources. It also features a tweaked three-panel interface that offers easier access to archived chats, starred messages, and calls. Although it’s now widely available, the new app is still in beta for the time being.

WABetaInfo reports that the new Mac app is built using Catalyst, Apple’s cross-platform development framework that’s mainly talked about as a way of easily bringing iPad apps to the Mac. But despite an official...

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