WhatsApp will finally let you check your Apple Watch to read your chats and see who is calling you.
WhatsApp for Apple Watch comes nearly two years after the company launched its Wear OS companion app
Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Luke Chesser
WhatsApp's Apple Watch app is now available to download on compatible smartwatches, the company announced on Tuesday. Users can install the companion app for WhatsApp, which lets them send voice notes, call notifications, react to messages, and see longer messages as well as their chat history. Support for smartwatches was previously limited to Wear OS, but the Meta-owned messaging platform has finally released a similar app for the Apple Watch. The company also says that messages sent and received using the companion app are also protected with end-to-end encryption.
The messaging platform says that its new companion app for WhatsApp on Apple Watch will allow users to view their chats without looking at their iPhone. Until now, Apple Watch users could only see a copy of the notification received on their smartphone, and longer messages would be truncated. The new WhatsApp app for Apple Watch shows users the entire message, and they can also read some of their previously sent and received messages.
Photo Credit: WhatsApp
While Apple Watch users could see notifications for calls placed via their telecom operator or FaceTime, there was no way to see who was calling via WhatsApp. With WhatsApp's new Apple Watch app, users will also see call notifications on their smartwatch.
WhatsApp also says that in addition to seeing some of their previous chat history on their Apple Watch, users will also see images and stickers clearly on their smartwatch. The companion app also supports recording and sending voice messages (or voice notes).
You can install the WhatsApp companion app on an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer model, and users must update to watchOS 10 or later to access the app. It requires the latest stable version of WhatsApp from the App Store, or the latest beta version if you're part of the TestFlight testing programme. You can download the app via the Watch app on your iPhone, and you don't need to log in once it's installed.
The WhatsApp app for Apple Watch also has certain limitations at the moment. The biggest one is that it's linked to your phone and won't work when your watch is out of range of your phone. While the app allows you to record and send voice notes, you'll need to pull out your phone to play videos in chats. This could change in the future, with upcoming versions of the WhatsApp companion app for Apple Watch.
Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.