Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

WhatsApp Now Available on Apple Watch

iSepp said:
Unfortunately it needs an active connection to the iPhone. Disappointing.
Click to expand...

One of the major issues with Apple Watch. If you get a cellular model you should just be able to use it but there's so many issues like this that make it difficult, even with iMessage you need to leave your phone on somewhere for it to work. And if your phone runs of out of battery it won't work. Why?
 
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: DaveS79, sflagel and System603
Enrico77 said:
I’d been waiting for this app for so long — it was supposed to be the freedom to finally go out without my phone. But it turned out to be completely useless and pointless, because it only works if your iPhone is connected. I tested it: left the phone at home, tried to connect via my Apple Watch (4G), and it just doesn’t work.

So what’s the point, really? I mean, if it’s just to quickly read a message notification, that already worked before. Starting a chat when you’re literally holding your phone in your pocket makes no sense — the phone is a thousand times more comfortable for that.

It would have been useful for chatting when you don’t have your phone with you. But it doesn’t work. And it’s not the only one — basically all the “companion” chat apps on the Watch are not truly independent.

The only one that works autonomously is Apple’s native Messages app. So if you go out without your iPhone and want to message someone who doesn’t own one… good luck.

Has anyone tested whether RCS messages are supported on the Apple Watch yet?
Click to expand...

Damn, this defeats the whole purpose of the app, what were they thinking?
 
  • Like
Reactions: sflagel
Sadly, without the ability to work "without the phone" this doesn't really add much value for me, since I can get a notification when I get a message already if my phone is near. If it worked when I didn't have my phone with me (like when I am on a run with my AW which has cellular data), it would be amazing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveS79, sflagel and System603
tomtad said:
One of the major issues with Apple Watch. If you get a cellular model you should just be able to use it but there's so many issues like this that make it difficult, even with iMessage you need to leave your phone on somewhere for it to work. And if your phone runs of out of battery it won't work. Why?
Click to expand...
This is 100% on the Einsteins at Meta, not a cellular Apple Watch problem.
 
apparatchik said:
Damn, this defeats the whole purpose of the app, what were they thinking?
Click to expand...

I suspect they were not able to implement it without destroying the battery life of the cellular watch.

Probably for good or bad reasons they couldn’t optimise direct connectivity as well as the iMessage Apple Watch client (it could be because Apple are using software/hardware features which aren’t exposed to third-party Apps, or because WhatsApp is just messy and badly designed under the hood).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: sflagel
Still get blurry notifications when somebody sends me a photo. How hard is it to implement this? Every other messaging app can display a clear image on the notification
 
iSepp said:
Unfortunately it needs an active connection to the iPhone. Disappointing
What good is a watch if you have to carry a phone anyway?
Click to expand...
Terrible. What is the benefit of an app on an Apple Watch if you have to carry a phone anyway? Why even have an Apple Watch if you carry a phone?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back