The new version of WhatsApp has an updated design that has a more Mac-like style with a dedicated sidebar, and it is notably quicker than the existing version.
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you may be right, it may be more an Asian thing, it is big here.
Itâs big in the UK too⌠virtually everyone I know has it on their phone and I believe itâs about 40m users out of a total population of c60m. The big benefit is itâs cross platform.
There are bigger things to fix, I feel. Like, if I delete a conversation it doesnât sync across devices. (It did until they made the desktop app independent of the phone).
Massive in Africa as well. Seems Messages is primarily a US thing â and maybe in some parts of continental EuropeâŚ
Disclaimer: I would love to get rid of WhatsApp, but that will not happen any time soon. I would love to just use âMessagesâ, but I do not see that coming. That was the disclaimer, now the content.
⌠I am not so sure about that if I think about the situation in Germany. Messages seems to be US exclusive when it comes down to being used by a huge crowd�
The situation over here: To send somebody a message means to send a WhatsApp message. Why? Well the iPhones keep getting traction, but there are a lot of Android phones out there. A lot. A huge number. So, if you want to send a message, you can basically reach almost everybody with WhatsApp. Outside of the geek world, WhatsApp still is THE way to send messages, there is no other way given WhatsAppâs adoption reate⌠Even if both users have an iPhone, the message will be sent over WhatsApp by a lot of users⌠Signal is getting traction, but ⌠slowly⌠And I doubt that it ever will prevail.
WhatsApp is more than messages. There are many groups inside of WhatsApp. Every club, every organization, sometimes even small communities have WhatsApp groups. If you are not a member of this group, you are seriously missing out on information. I hate that and I fear that this post will get some angry reactions, but that is how it is. You can boycott WhatsApp, but you will miss out on information you sometimes cannot get anywhere else. Sorry, that is how I have experienced it over and over again. 
Apple could have made Messages huge outside of the US if it had brought it to Android years ago. But, well, they thought it was a bad idea as we have learned last year: Apple Said IMessage on Android Would Hurt More Than Help the Business
I disagree. It might be understandable from a US point of view, but the reality is that iOS devices have a totally different market share outside of the US.
Once there was this amazing device. It was called the iPod. It made me curious. That is when I started switching to Apple. The rest ist my personal history. If you are good, your customers will look for more of your products. If your app is better than others on Android, users might also look for your hardware products. Locking customers in sounds interesting from a business standpoint (until there will be regulation preventing you from doing so), but the real (legal) lock-in happens in the long term when you are so good that nobody wants to buy the other stuffâŚ
I know that it is a huge problem to do so (because of security and encryption), but I really am looking forward to the results of initiatives making cross-platform messaging mandatory (https://9to5mac.com/2022/03/24/eu-legislation-to-make-imessage-and-other-messaging-apps-interoperable/). It is my hope to finally get rid of WhatsApp. My only hope, to be honest. My way or the highway does not work for messaging world-wideâŚ
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Exactly my experience. Everything from church prayer groups to my old (!) school friends are using WhatsApp groups. I set up a distribution list using text messaging recently, but soon moved it to WhatsApp for the richer experience. iMessages are a non starter as itâs Apple only and would omit more than half the group.
Like you, I would like to avoid Meta products, but for now itâs the only mainstream option.
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As said by others above â the biggest reason I use WhatsApp, is a.) for the countless groups that require access as created by schools/clubs/social groups etc. etc. as means to communicate â which only happens since b.) easily more than 50% of users in this part of the world use Android/non-iOS devicesâŚ
In the absence of iOS domination, alternatives to Messages are not ânice-to-havesâ, they are pretty much required.
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@Josh, do you?
I know that the question isnât directed at me, but no. I donât really talk to anybody outside of the United States.
I see European people referencing it all the time. I have a feeling itâs just not an âAmericanâ thing.
You might also want to avoid using that word in general.
Iâm sorry, what? My name is Jay. Itâs very clearly stated in my username.
Lots of folks use it in Canada. I donât like the app; I think itâs ugly. But itâs very popular here, particularly amongst all of our immigrant friends. One advantage of the app not stated is that iMessage will resort to SMS if data is not available. That can be a dealbreaker for global communications.
Finally, I find the current app to be a huge RAM hog! Hopefully this is fixed with silicon in mind in the new version.
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Big in Europe, too. Especially in Germany where Apple has the lowest market share in all of western Europe, if I remember correctly.
WhatsApp is alomst âmandatoryâ in the Netherlands⌠i only use iMessage for communicating with my wife and kids. Most people i know do not have an iOS device.
I cannot imagine that WhatsApp is hardly used in the US, does everybody have an iPhone in the US? 
Or are Signal and Telegram more popular?
Just realised Iâm accessing it through Webcatalog.app on my M1 â which is presumably just the browser version, wrapped.
Downloaded and tried the native-app â but have a vertical/portrait orientation reference monitor off to the side, where WhatsApp lives (next to Fantastical) â and the Webcatalog.app version worked better in terms of resizing options, compared to the native.
Hereâs hoping the new version does improve on RAM usage, and plays nicely in terms of re-sizing. If the latter, will certainly give it a go!
I canât speak for everybody, but I donât know anybody who actually uses it.
Yes, especially young people. Youâd be surprised! iOS has approximately 70% market share in the United States (compared to Androidâs 30% market share).
Iâd second this sentiment about iPhone popularity, and itâs the same in Canada too. In our friends and family group, which is a few dozen people, I can think of only four or five who have Android. The rest use iPhone.
When my brother-in-law married his wife, she had an Android phone. But the rest of the family had iPhone and wasnât about to stop using their long-running iMessage thread. She switched almost immediately after their honeymoon.
Theyâre all adults who buy their own iPhones? I donât understand what you mean. Theyâre practically free with most carrier plans here.
Oh I see. Yes that makes sense. 
What is your source?
oh wow⌠thatâs a big difference indeed⌠i wish adoption was this high over here⌠i would be using iMessage much more in that case 