Meta is planning to overhaul the WhatsApp experience for Windows users by replacing the existing native UWP app with a new version based on a web wrapper architecture. The upcoming WhatsApp beta for Windows, reported by Windows Latest, is built using Microsoft Edge’s WebView2—a Chromium-based control that essentially loads the WhatsApp web client inside a desktop application window.
This switch means the new app will no longer be a fully native Windows application but will instead rely on a browser engine to render the interface and handle core functions. While this simplifies the development process by unifying the app’s codebase across platforms, it comes with notable consequences. Users should expect a streamlined, less customizable UI and a notification system that doesn’t integrate as tightly with Windows’ native notification center. Certain Windows-specific features may be lost or reduced in capability.
On the upside, the beta does bring new functionality such as support for WhatsApp Channels, improved Status updates, and enhanced Communities, aiming to expand the app’s social features.
However, performance tests indicate the new app uses about 30% more RAM than the existing native app and may exhibit slower responsiveness. This increased resource usage is a known drawback of web-based wrappers compared to native apps, potentially affecting users with limited system resources.
Ultimately, Meta’s move is driven by a desire to reduce engineering overhead by maintaining a single web-based client rather than multiple platform-specific versions. This strategy should allow faster feature rollouts and easier maintenance, though it may come at the cost of a less polished, less efficient Windows experience.