Evidence in the latest WhatsApp Beta points to mobile ‘accompanying’ devices
WhatsApp has been supporting several devices for a while now – at least when it comes to desktops. You can use the messenger on your laptop or computer without maintaining an active internet connection on your mobile phone. But people with Android tablets or secondary smartphones were left out of the party, with the feature only available for WhatsApp on desktops. This may soon change, with the first evidence popping up that the messenger is working to support accompanying Android devices.
WABetaInfo dug into the code and revealed a screen in the latest WhatsApp Beta for Android, version 2.22.10.13, which seems to allow you to register an Android device as a secondary companion to your primary phone with WhatsApp on it. As seen in the screenshot, the new WhatsApp section is called “Register device as companion”, with a description explaining that the feature allows you to use WhatsApp on another device. It seems that the display is not finished yet as the instructions at the bottom explain that you need to scan a QR code with your primary WhatsApp device which is supposed to be displayed here.
Source: WABetaInfo
This functionality was already hinted at last year when we saw the first proof that WhatsApp was working on “multi-device 2.0”, which would allow you to sync your message with other mobile Android devices. Based on early screenshots back then, you will see a splash screen during setup that tells you that your secondary WhatsApp installation is currently downloading latest messages.
While it was previously unclear whether the functionality would be limited to classic secondary devices like tablets and Chromebooks, this week’s new details seem to point to mobile phone support. WhatsApp may still pull the option before releasing the functionality in a future update, but right now things are looking good.
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