WhatsApp is finally giving iPad the navigation it should have had from day one. With beta version 26.36.10.17 on TestFlight, the app is swapping its iPhone-style bottom tab bar for a sidebar lifted straight from the Mac app, and it makes a real difference on a bigger screen.
Why the old iPad layout never made sense
Until now, WhatsApp on iPad behaved like an oversized iPhone app. Chats, Updates, Communities, Calls, and Meta AI all lived in a row of tabs at the bottom of the screen, the same setup you’d expect on a 6-inch display. On an 11-inch or 13-inch iPad, that layout wasted the extra screen real estate instead of using it.
WhatsApp already fixed this problem on Mac, so it’s not surprising the fix is finally trickling down to iPad.
What’s new in this update
As reported by WABetaInfo, the sidebar is visible by default when you open WhatsApp on a compatible iPad. It gives you direct access to Chats, Updates, Communities, Calls, and Meta AI, plus a new “More” section that tucks away Locked, Archived, Starred, Status, and Favourites. Your profile icon sits at the bottom of the sidebar for quick access to settings.
It’s essentially a one-to-one match with the sidebar WhatsApp shipped on Mac, so if you already use the desktop app, the iPad version will feel instantly familiar.
Not everyone wants a permanent sidebar eating into their screen space, so WhatsApp built in a toggle. Tap the button at the top right of the sidebar and it disappears, replaced by the tab bar moved up to the top of the screen instead of the bottom. Your chat list and conversation view then expand to fill the freed-up space, which is handy if you want to focus purely on a conversation.
Tapping the sidebar icon in that top tab bar brings the sidebar straight back.
Liquid Glass, but not for everyone
The sidebar picks up WhatsApp’s Liquid Glass treatment, the translucent look Apple introduced with iOS 26 and that WhatsApp already rolled out on iPhone and Mac. On a compatible iPad, the sidebar lets your wallpaper or background app show through, matching the rest of the system.
If you’re still on iOS 18 or earlier, you’ll get the new sidebar layout, just without the glass effect.
This is a staged rollout, so don’t panic if you update TestFlight and see nothing new. WhatsApp is pushing the sidebar to a portion of beta testers first, with more accounts getting it over the coming weeks. A handful of users on the regular App Store version may also see it early, though beta testers on 26.36.10.17 are the most likely group to get it first.
It’s a small change on paper, but it’s the kind of detail that separates an app that feels built for iPad from one that’s just an iPhone app stretched wider. Combined with the earlier Liquid Glass rollout, WhatsApp’s iPad experience is starting to look a lot closer to what Mac users already have, and that’s overdue.
Are you seeing the new sidebar on your iPad yet? Let us know in the comments.
