Yes, they basically got the ios native version to also run for macs [0]. The perks of apple silicon I guess. It is a bit ironic how going to ARM architecture initially was initially thought of a burden for developpers having to maintain both x86 and ARM versions, while as it turns out, for those who target both ios and macos it makes it easier.

I am not sure if the old electron-based whatsapp is still available, maybe the one from the website, vs the one from app store, is still electron?

[0] https://9to5mac.com/2024/09/04/whatsapp-discontinue-electron...