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The old macOS app is available for one more month before it shuts down
WhatsApp web version works on Windows and macOS but the app is also there, including the older macOS version which will be shutting down in over a month.
WhatsApp constantly introduces new features which means the older Android, iOS and macOS systems cannot support them forever. And this week, Meta has confirmed that the old macOS app for WhatsApp will stop working and they have been asked to install the new WhatsApp macOS app right away.
WhatsApp Old MacOS App Shutting Down But Why
The details about the old app shutting down comes via WaBetaInfo this week, and the tipster claims people have 54 days before the old macOS WhatsApp version goes away. Meta even points out that macOS users can download the new version from the official WhatsApp website or head over to the Mac App Store and get the compatible WhatsApp version before the deadline ends.
So, why is the old WhatsApp version on macOS going away? This version of WhatsApp was built using Electron which was effectively running as a web app on the Mac and had performance limitations. It is likely that the old app cannot be relevant in 2024 with a wide range of features offered by the messaging app.
So, in comes the new WhatsApp macOS app built with the Catalyst technology which uses the iOS app as its base and can run natively on the Macs, which straight away makes it faster and responsive to the new features.
You can use the new WhatsApp macOS app if your system is running macOS 11 version or higher. In the meanwhile, WhatsApp is yet to have a native app for iPad users, who can only rely on the web version which runs on any web browser.
