WhatsApp Expands CarPlay, Android Auto and iPad Features

WhatsApp is rolling out several updates aimed at improving its use across vehicles, tablets and desktop platforms.

The Meta-owned messaging service has upgraded its integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Previously, users could compose messages and place calls through these systems. The revised experience now allows them to hear and reply to messages, view call history and access favourite contacts while connected to a vehicle’s infotainment system.

WhatsApp has also added the ability to create an account directly on an iPad. Since launching its iPad app last year, the company said users had requested the option to register without first linking to a phone. Registration still requires a phone number and the ability to receive a one-time passcode. Once set up, the iPad account operates as a standalone profile rather than as a companion device linked to a primary phone.

Additional features include the option to share songs from Apple Music or Spotify directly to a WhatsApp Status, and the ability to open PDFs within the app on web and desktop versions. Users can perform basic edits such as highlighting and annotating without downloading the file first.

These changes form part of WhatsApp’s wider effort to position the service as a cross-device communication platform rather than one limited primarily to mobile messaging. In recent months the company has also introduced usernames, which allow users to share their profile without revealing a phone number, and launched a paid WhatsApp Plus subscription that offers extras such as profile customisation, additional reactions and story insights.

The new CarPlay, Android Auto, iPad registration, music-sharing and PDF tools are among the latest additions to that expanding set of capabilities.