WhatsApp reportedly working on a phone-less desktop version of the app

WABetaInfo, the outlet behind many notable previews of what’s coming up for messaging app WhatsApp, has come up with yet more early info. This time, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new Universal Windows Platform (UWP), as well as a new desktop version of the app.

The upgraded desktop version of the app is remarkable because it’ll supposedly function without your phone powered on and nearby. You know, the way it works at the moment. The existence of the UWP is to thank for that, as are WhatsApp’s designs on your messaging time. And that’s because…

Multiple soap-boxes, one user

…WhatsApp’s reported Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will make it a thing. The UWP, which WABetaInfo claims is definitely in the pipeline, will allow WhatsApp users to use a single account on multiple devices. More important, you can use that account on multiple devices simultaneously. Or, rather, without having to uninstall from another device. This gives Facebook and WhatsApp the space to launch a new iPad version of the app, while keeping WhatsApp installed on iPhones and Android devices. Makes sense.

It also means that the Windows version of WhatApp (the only version for which info is available) should soon be able to function without a powered-on mobile device with the app installed. According to the report, you will be able to use “WhatsApp on your computer (without the necessity for an Internet connection on your phone) using the UWP app (this is one of the reasons why we started to develop it).”

However, there’s no timeline for the feature yet. Only confirmation that it’s coming. Details on a standalone Mac desktop app are non-existent right now but we reckon they’ll turn up when this announcement moves closer to the ‘official’ side of the drawing board.

Source: WABetaInfo