Facebook Messenger Apple Watch App to Be Discontinued By End of May, Says Meta

[MacRumors]

Facebook Messenger's Apple Watch app will be discontinued at the end of this month, according to Meta, ending the ability for users to reply to messages on the service from their wrist.

Posts shared on social media carried a screenshot of a notification sent to a handful of users in recent days informing them that Messenger won't be available as an Apple Watch app after May 31, but that users would continue to get Messenger notifications on their watch.

Not all users of the app received the notification, but when asked for clarification by Reviewgeek, a Meta spokesperson gave the following statement:

"People can still receive Messenger notifications on their Apple Watch when paired, but starting at the end of May they will no longer be able to respond from their watch. But they can continue using Messenger on their iPhone, desktop and the web.”

Meta did not give a reason for its decision to sunset its Messenger app for Apple Watch, which was introduced in 2015. The app allowed users to send voice clips, likes, stickers, and more without having to open the corresponding smartphone app.

Some users on Facebook suggested it could be because allowing users to respond to messages on their wrist reduced the amount of screen time spent in Messenger on their smartphone. But the app joins a long line of other third-party services that have pulled watchOS development over the last few years, either due to perceived redundancy or lack of user uptake. Other notable Apple Watch apps that have been discontinued include Twitter, Instagram, Target, Trello, Slack, Hulu, and Uber.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1656017246286749697

Apple over time has gradually shifted away from promoting the Apple Watch as a home for apps, with the company focusing on fitness and health features as the primary functionality. Recent rumors suggest Apple intends to make interactive widgets a big part of its watchOS 10 redesign, which has been interpreted as proof that dedicated apps have not proved popular enough.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes that the move is an admission that an iPhone-like app experience "doesn't always make sense on a watch" since "Apple Watch apps have barely caught on." However, due to being a radical departure from the app-centric experience existing Apple Watch users are used to, Apple may make the new widget-based interface optional.

The changes are part of what Gurman claims will be one of the Apple Watch's biggest software updates since its introduction and the most significant change to the Apple Watch this year, as only minor hardware updates are expected to be unveiled later this year.

Article Link: Facebook Messenger Apple Watch App to Be Discontinued By End of May, Says Meta

 

[McKodiak]

This trend has been going on now for over a year. Companies aren't developing or ending support for the stand-alone Apple Watch apps. The primary Apple Watch use case worth supporting must be the Apple Watch tethered to the iPhone.

 

[vegetassj4]

I avoid FB messenger like Twitter, the plague, etc.

 

[fwmireault]

And I was waiting all this time for a WhatsApp app. I guess it will never happen now

 

[d686546s]

Interesting, especially because they are simultaneously starting to roll out WhatsApp for Wear OS.

Is Meta pivoting away from Apple?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

My advice: Stay away from Facebook. Protect your privacy.

 

[k1121j]

Salty much?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

And I was waiting all this time for a WhatsApp app. I guess it will never happen now

I'm surprised it's 2023 and WhatsApp for the iPad is not here either. Talk about priorities.

 

[kenni417]

holy crap. the only time i’ve ever used the app from my watch was when i locked my keys in the car at work, both my iphone and work phone were inside. my only resort was to msg my co worker on fb messenger for help.

 

[Jarman74]

Not nearly as bothersome as the loss of Microsoft Authenticator's support. I relied on it literally on a daily basis.

 

[vegetassj4]

And I was waiting all this time for a WhatsApp app. I guess it will never happen now

Interesting, especially because they are simultaneously starting to roll out WhatsApp for Wear OS.

Is Meta pivoting away from Apple?

I'm surprised it's 2023 and WhatsApp for the iPad is not here either. Talk about priorities.

wassssapppppp!

 

[ericg301]

Ads are coming to WhatsApp and Messenger, if they aren't already. No way Apple would allow those ads to be served up on the watch app. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that Meta ran the math and figured out how many ad dollars would be lost by users using the Watch app vs the phone app. By removing the watch app, users will now be forced to use the phone app....and see the ads. Follow. the. money.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Apple could fix this by adding more interactive features directly and not requiring a separate watch app to do things like reply to messages.

From what I hear from developers, Apple has kind of painted themselves into a corner with the watch because it’s so difficult to make apps for, and doesn’t work properly with third party apps without a matching watch app.

 

[klasma]

And I was waiting all this time for a WhatsApp app. I guess it will never happen now

That’s because nobody can pronounce “WhatsApp Watch app” ten times in a row.

 

[kalafalas]

I really dislike this trend of watch apps not being developed, especially chat apps. One of the main reasons I want a watch is receiving notifications and checking chats when my phone isn’t in range. What am I paying the cellular for then??

 

[CarAnalogy]

Ads are coming to WhatsApp and Messenger, if they aren't already. No way Apple would allow those ads to be served up on the watch app. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that Meta ran the math and figured out how many ad dollars would be lost by users using the Watch app vs the phone app. By removing the watch app, users will now be forced to use the phone app....and see the ads. Follow. the. money.

With ads now showing up everywhere, even in paid services, it’s only a matter of time before Apple does on the Watch what they did on the phone and decide that they would actually like to push ads to users as well so maybe it is actually ok for third parties to use push for ads.

 

[xxray]

I hate Facebook and haven’t used it in years, but this is a loss for the Apple Watch ecosystem.

 

[andrewxgx]

dam dam dam
another app bites the dust

 

[dmr727]

Facebook? How many Boomers even *own* an Apple Watch?

 

[antiprotest]

This trend has been going on now for over a year. Companies aren't developing or ending support for the stand-alone Apple Watch apps. The primary Apple Watch use case worth supporting must be the Apple Watch tethered to the iPhone.

Some apps never made a version for the Watch. Some apps never improved their buggy and feature-less Watch version after making the initial one. And more and more apps have been backing out of the Watch.

This was one of the reasons I abandoned the Apple Watch altogether. I owned a Watch for two years. I was hoping to occasionally be able to take the cell-enabled Watch outside without the phone. But the app support was never there.

Over that period I had two small urgent situations I needed to deal with while out and I had only my watch with me. It was better than nothing, and actually showed off what the watch could do in a pinch, but it was not enough and I might as well have brought my phone with me.

Admittedly, the Watch is still worth it for the health features if you are into that, but it's not for me, and it was just another thing to charge. And as Yoda said, "Charge often, you must."

 

[jvchappy]

Funny they did this a day after announcing WhatsApp for Google Watches. I think this might have something to do with that

 

[poematik13]

Sucks that the apple watch went from being a dick tracy miniature comptuer to just another fitness gimmick gadget/health anxiety generator

I still have an LTE model, but I don't really see the point of it anymore when so much app support is disappearing

 

[RalfTheDog]

I'm surprised it's 2023 and WhatsApp for the iPad is not here either. Talk about priorities.

I use Facebook for advertising. There is no better platform. I also use it to keep in touch with my literary friends. At the same time, I don't put anything on it that I would not want my worst enemy to know. Facebook is a very useful tool. It is not your friend.

 

[Simmias]

"But they can continue NOT using Messenger on their iPhone, desktop and the web.”

>Fixed that for them.

 

[jz0309]

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes that the move is an admission that an iPhone-like app experience "doesn't always make sense on a watch" since "Apple Watch apps have barely caught on." However, due to being a radical departure from the app-centric experience existing Apple Watch users are used to, Apple may make the new widget-based interface optional.

The changes are part of what Gurman claims will be one of the Apple Watch's biggest software updates since its introduction and the most significant change to the Apple Watch this year, as only minor hardware updates are expected to be unveiled later this year.

BS. Users are speaking out loud by not using apps. Widgets for AW are a dumb idea, AW is not an interactive device. Apple knows better, I hope, health, fitness is the main reason people get AW.