Tencent expands WeChat to desktops

Tencent has expanded its reach from mobile phones to desktop computers by officially announcing a native Mac version of WeChat, its popular messaging app. Announced February 27 on Tencent’s official microblog, WeChat for Mac features both Chinese and English language options and is designed to support Mac OS X 10.7 and above. This is not the first time Tencent has dabbled in non-mobile software. A web-based version of WeChat is also available for public use and can sync data from mobile phones.

There’s now an additional way for users of popular messaging serviceWeChat to communicate — via a newly-launched native desktop Mac client. Announced on its official Weibo account, the WeChat Mac client is available in both English and Chinese and brings the WeChat interface into a setting optimized for the Mac desktop. You need to have Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or above to install the client. A Web version of WeChat has already been available for users to chat on their PCs — all you have to do is scan a QR code to sync your mobile version to the browser — but this is the first time a native desktop client has been introduced. Other than providing more options for users and making it easier to chat across platforms, WeChat’s move brings it closer in line with its fierce rival, Japanese messaging app Line, which already has desktop clients for both Mac and Windows users.