Almost 10 years on from the release of the first Apple Watch in 2015, WhatsApp is finally launching its own dedicated app on the wearable, letting users access various core messaging features straight from their wrist.
WhatsApp’s launch on Apple Watch follows shortly after the messenger app’s arrival on the iPad back in May this year, and according to its announcement blog post, will help users “stay on top of your chats without needing to pull out your iPhone.”
Apart from the basic functionality of reading and responding to messages, with end-to-end encryption remaining enabled for all personal messages and calls, like other platforms, WhatsApp on Apple Watch will also support a host of other features, including:
- Call notifications: Allows users to identify who is calling without needing to refer to their phone.
- Full messages: Enables the viewing of even lengthy messages in full directly via the Apple Watch app.
- Voice messages: Users can record and send voice messages for more efficient communication.
- React to messages: The ability to send quick emoji reactions to received messages.
- Chat history: Users can view more of their chat history on screen when reading messages.
The WhatsApp Apple Watch app is available on the Apple Watch Series 4 or later, and requires devices to be running watchOS 10 or above. To access the standalone app, ensure that your Apple Watch fits the requirements listed above, and make sure that WhatsApp on the paired iPhone is updated to its latest version, and the app should automatically show up on the Apple Watch’s app list.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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