The app feels nimble, with macOS features like spell-checker and drag and drop supported for the first time, thanks to Catalyst. Read: How to use multiple WhatsApp accounts on a single device You can hide or show the sidebar | Image: Christian Zibreg/iDB The sidebar, which can be hidden at will, lets you access the same shortcuts as in the iOS app: Chats, Calls, Archived, Starred and Settings. The interface sports a native sidebar which behaves like any good macOS platform citizen. More importantly, it’s much more pleasing to use than the current one could ever hope to be. You’ll immediately notice that the native app has a yellow icon, indicating you’re running prerelease software. You can download the DMG file by clicking this link:Īfter installing the app on your machine, you’ll need to link your account by scanning the code with WhatsApp’s mobile app. What to do? Download the new app from the official website.ĭownload WhatsApp’s new Catalyst-powered Mac app.

Why care? The existing Mac app, built using the Electron framework, feels out of place and does not support platform-specific features.What’s happening? WhatsApp has released a beta version of its upcoming native Mac app that looks and feels like a good macOS platform citizen.The sidebar provides the same shortcuts as the iOS app | Image: Christian Zibreg/iDB Everyone dislikes WhatsApp’s Electron-powered Mac app, but Meta now lets you try out a new, native version built with Apple’s Catalyst framework ahead of release.

Whatsapp desktop beta