It’s easy to forget how much of the world relies upon WhatsApp as its primary messaging app. Texts aren’t free in much of the world. Sure, we use WhatsApp in the US, but more as a supplement to your Apple and Android’s regular text messaging. And we’ve had the Apple Watch implementation of Apple Messages for a while.
If you’re a heavy WhatsApp user or live in a country where it’s used more than Apple Messages, you’ll have noticed that you’re missing out on one of the Apple Watch’s major attractions: seeing and sending messages from your wrist. All because there’s been no WhatsApp app for the Apple Watch. Until now, that is.
a new launch
Meta’s announcement on Tuesday, November 4, was brief. Aside from heralding the launch, it only mentioned that its most requested features would be available within the new app.
Those features include the ability to see incoming call notifications, read full messages (and not just abbreviated previews), write and send messages, record and send voice memos, and send emoji quick reactions to messages you receive.
You’ll also see “clearer images and stickers on your Apple Watch” and “more of your chat history on screen when reading messages,” according to Meta.
It’s a bit of a surprise, since I hadn’t heard any talk about the possibility of a WhatsApp app coming to the Apple Watch. It always seemed like a no-brainer, a glaringly obvious missing puzzle piece, but Meta isn’t all that keyed into the Apple Watch platform (watchOS) anyway.
There are no Facebook, Instagram, or Threads apps for the Apple Watch either. Early on the morning of launch day, tech journalists like myself got a hint that there was “WhatsApp news” coming at 10 a.m. EST today, but aside from that, it was a whisper.
Good to see that WhatsApp is now right there on Apple users’ wrists. Of all the missing apps on the watchOS store, the most obvious one has now been filled.
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