WhatsApp for Apple iPad now available for download on App Store
Meta announced the launch of WhatsApp for Apple iPad users, after years of requests from tablet users who wanted a more seamless way to access the company's end-to-end messaging service.
Now, Apple iPad owners can use WhatsApp to make video and audio calls with up to 32 people, share their screen, and use both the front and back cameras.
Some iPadOS multitasking features include Stage Manager on eligible devices, Split View, and Slide Over. This lets people see several apps at once or send messages even while browsing the web. Users can also browse the web while on a call. The chat lock feature will be available for Apple iPad users too.
Meta welcomed users to send in their feedback and noted that the app was available for download through the App Store.
Meta's WhatsApp for Apple iPad also works with users' Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil products.
'WhatsApp for iPad uses our industry leading multi-device technology to keep everything in sync across your iPhone, Mac and other devices while protecting your personal messages, calls and media with end-to-end encryption, no matter what platform or device you're messaging.,' said Meta in a blog post announcing the update.
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Time of India
9 hours ago
- Time of India
Under fire, Sarvam AI co-founder says worries about Indic GenAI model premature
Chennai/Bengaluru: India's latest home-grown generative AI language model, Sarvam-M, has drawn fire from sections of the developer community for what they describe as "under-whelming" performance. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But Pratyush Kumar, co-founder of Sarvam AI, insists the scepticism is premature and betrays a misunderstanding of how AI frontier models mature. "The ecosystem is early and people are worried too early," he tells TOI. "We are scrambling amongst ourselves when the world moves fast. We want to create an AI ecosystem where more people can positively collaborate." Released this month, the relatively small 24-billion-parameter Sarvam-M model was trained to reason across ten Indian languages while tackling maths and coding tasks. Kumar says benchmarks on Hugging Face (a platform and open-source library primarily used for leveraging machine learning models) show the model matching or outscoring popular open-source rivals (like Meta's Llama, Mistral Small and Gemma 3) in mathematics, programming and Indic-language comprehension. "With this we want to show that we cracked post-training (process of refining and optimising a machine learning model after its initial training phase) problems and our methodology is comparable with other models," he explains. "We open-sourced this because we want to show that such a model can be built and encourage other people to do it." Much of the social-media push-back has centred on relatively modest early-stage download numbers and the perception that Sarvam-M offers few breakthrough capabilities. Kumar counters that India's sovereign-AI ambitions demand more than one blockbuster release. "These things involve both scientific explorations and resource consumption," he says. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "I think we are on the path to building state-of-the-art models. " Sarvam AI is the first startup chosen to build a frontier model under the government's IndiaAI Mission, which is funding compute, data and research partnerships to reduce reliance on overseas platforms. Although the latest model is a private effort separate from the IndiaAI Mission, Kumar says the initiative will benefit everyone. He declines to give a timeline for the AI Mission-backed foundation model, noting that the company has yet to receive graphics-processing units (GPUs) from government suppliers. "We will open-source the foundational model," he says, but warns that schedules depend on hardware access and collaborative research cycles. Industry weighs in Seasoned AI practitioners say early criticism overlooks the scale of what Sarvam is attempting. "Building a 24-billion-parameter model in India is not easy, especially when deep research isn't encouraged in most universities or companies," says Jaspreet Bindra, co-founder of consultancy AI&Beyond. "Sarvam-M demonstrates robust multilingual reasoning by supporting ten Indian languages – no other model in the world has such a strong Indic component. " Sourabh Deorah, CEO & co-founder of an AI-powered employee engagement and rewards platform, says that as someone deeply involved in machine learning, he understands how challenging it is to create a 24-bn parameter model that not only handles reasoning tasks like math and programming but also delivers high-quality performance across multiple Indian languages – many of which have long been underserved in the AI space. Piyush Goel, CEO & founder of IT consulting company Beyond Key, says that the new model's potential to drive agentic AI in education, healthcare, and automation is exciting. Agentic AI is a type of AI that makes decisions and takes actions based on context and objectives without constant human intervention. Karthikeyan G, senior director of engineering architecture at software company Ascendion, says Sarvam-M's architecture will enable AI agents to interact among themselves (to take complex decisions) thanks to the standardised protocols being used. This will be crucial for the next stage of the AI wave.
Scroll.in
13 hours ago
- Scroll.in
Aristotle would scoff at Mark Zuckerberg's suggestion that AI can solve the loneliness epidemic
Mark Zuckerberg recently suggested that AI chatbots could combat social isolation by serving as 'friends' for people experiencing loneliness. He cited statistics that the average American has fewer than three friends but yearns for as many as 15. He was close: According to a 2021 report from the Survey Center on American Life, about half of Americans have fewer than four close friends. Zuckerberg then posited that AI could help bridge this gap by providing constant, personalized interactions. 'I would guess that over time we will find the vocabulary as a society to be able to articulate why that is valuable,' he added. Zuckerberg explaining how Meta is creating personalized AI friends to supplement your real ones: 'The average American has 3 friends, but has demand for 15.' — Roman Helmet Guy (@romanhelmetguy) April 30, 2025 Loneliness and social disconnection are serious problems. But can AI really be a solution? Might relying on AI for emotional support create a false sense of connection and possibly exacerbate feelings of isolation? And while AI can simulate certain aspects of companionship, doesn't it lack the depth, empathy and mutual understanding inherent to human friendship? Researchers have started exploring these questions. But as a moral philosopher, I think it's worth turning to a different source: the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Though it might seem odd to consult someone who lived over 2,000 years ago on questions of modern technology, Aristotle offers enduring insights about friendships – and which ones are particularly valuable. More important than spouses, kids or money In his philosophical text Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle maintained that true friendship is essential for 'eudaimonia,' a Greek word that is typically translated as 'flourishing' or 'well-being.' For Aristotle, friends are not just nice to have – they're a central component of ethical living and essential for human happiness and fulfillment. 'Without friends, no one would choose to live,' he writes, 'though he had all other goods.' A solitary existence, even one of contemplation and intellectual achievement, is less complete than a life with friends. Friendship contributes to happiness by providing emotional support and solidarity. It is through friendship that individuals can cultivate their virtues, feel a sense of security and share their accomplishments. Empirical evidence seems to support the connection between friendship and eudaimonia. A 2023 Pew Center research report found that 61 per cent of adults in the US say having close friends is essential to living a fulfilling life – a higher proportion than those who cited marriage, children or money. A British study of 6,500 adults found that those who had regular interactions with a wide circle of friends were more likely to have better mental health and be happier. And a meta-analysis of nearly 150 studies found that a lack of close friends can increase the risk of death as much as smoking, drinking or obesity. Different friends for different needs But the benefit of friendship that Aristotle focuses on the most is the role that it plays in the development of virtue. The first tier is what he calls 'friendships of utility,' or a friendship that is based on mutual benefit. Each party is primarily concerned with what they can gain from the other. These might be colleagues at work or neighbours who look after each other's pets when one of them is on vacation. The problem with these friendships is that they are often fleeting and dissolve once one person stops benefiting from the relationship. The second is 'friendships of pleasure,' which are friendships based on shared interests. These friendships can also be transient, depending on how long the shared interests last. Passionate love affairs, people belonging to the same book club and fishing buddies all fall into this category. This type of friendship is important, since you tend to enjoy your passions more when you can share them with another person. But this is still not the highest form of friendship. According to Aristotle, the third and strongest form of friendship is a 'virtuous friendship.' This is based on mutual respect for each other's virtues and character. Two people with this form of friendship value each other for who they truly are and share a deep commitment to the well-being and moral development of one another. These friendships are stable and enduring. In a virtuous friendship, each individual helps the other become better versions of themselves through encouragement, moral guidance and support. As Aristotle writes: 'Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good and alike in virtue. … Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most truly friends; for they do this by reason of their own nature and not incidentally; therefore their friendship lasts as long as they are good – and goodness is an enduring thing.' In other words, friendships rooted in virtue not only bring happiness and fulfilment but also facilitate personal growth and moral development. And it happens naturally within the context of the relationship. According to Aristotle, a virtuous friend provides a mirror in which one can reflect upon their own actions, thoughts and decisions. When one friend demonstrates honesty, generosity or compassion, the other can learn from these actions and be inspired to cultivate these virtues in themselves. No nourishment for the soul So, what does this mean for AI friends? By Aristotle's standards, AI chatbots – however sophisticated – cannot be true friends. They may be able to provide information that helps you at work, or engage in lighthearted conversation about your various interests. But they fundamentally lack qualities that define a virtuous friendship. AI is incapable of mutual concern or genuine reciprocity. While it can be programmed to simulate empathy or encouragement, it does not truly care about the individual – nor does it ask anything of its human users. Moreover, AI cannot engage in the shared pursuit of the good life. Aristotle's notion of friendship involves a shared journey on the path to eudaimonia, during which each person helps another live wisely and well. This requires the kind of moral development that only human beings, who face real ethical challenges and make real decisions, can undergo. I think it is best to think of AI as a tool. Just like having a good shovel or rake can improve your quality of life, having the rake and the shovel do not mean you no longer need any friends – nor do they replace the friends whose shovels and rakes you used to borrow. While AI may offer companionship in a limited and functional sense, it cannot meet the Aristotelian criteria for virtuous friendship. It may fill a temporary social void, but it cannot nourish the soul. If anything, the rise of AI companions should serve as a reminder of the urgent need to foster real friendships in an increasingly disconnected world.
India.com
18 hours ago
- India.com
WhatsApp To Stop Working On These iPhones And Android Phones From June 1, 2025; Here's What You Should Do
Smartphones To Lose WhatsApp Support In 2025: Beware! WhatsApp will stop working on certain iPhones and Android devices as part of its routine software update cycle starting Sunday, June 1, 2025. If you or someone you know is still using an older model, it's a high time to double-check compatibility. The update, originally scheduled for May 5, was delayed by a few weeks to give users more time to prepare. To continue using WhatsApp, iPhones must now be running iOS 15.1 or later, and Android devices must be on Android 5.1 or newer. This change is part of Meta's regular update cycle, as WhatsApp raises its minimum system requirements. Let's have a quick on the list of iPhones and Android that will no longer support the Meta-owned WhatsApp platform, as it ends support for outdated devices starting June 1, 2025. Complete List of Smartphones That Will Lose WhatsApp Support In 2025 iPhones Android Phones iPhone 5s Samsung Galaxy S4 iPhone 6 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 iPhone 6 Plus Sony Xperia Z1 iPhone 6s LG G2 iPhone 6s Plus Huawei Ascend P6 iPhone SE (1st Generation) Moto G (1st Gen) Moto E (2014) Motorola Razr HD HTC One X Samsung Galaxy S3 Update iOS (If Possible) If you have an iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, or SE (1st gen), update to iOS 15.8.4 by navigating to Settings > General > Software Update. This ensures your device remains compatible with WhatsApp. Upgrade Your Device To keep using WhatsApp, upgrade to a smartphone running iOS 15.1 or later, or Android 5.1 or newer. Affordable options include the iPhone SE (2nd or 3rd gen) and many mid-range Android phones. Switch to Alternative Messaging Apps If your device can't be upgraded, try alternatives like Telegram or Signal. These apps might still support older phones, though their user communities are smaller. Check the app store to confirm device compatibility. Backup Your Chats: Before losing access, back up WhatsApp chats to avoid data loss. On iPhone, use iCloud; on Android, use Google Drive. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup to securely save your conversations. Adding further, WhatsApp is taking this step to enhance user security. The platform is introducing modern features such as advanced end-to-end encryption, video calling, and improved user interface options, which older versions cannot support.
