WhatsApp Now Available on Apple Watch

[sflagel]

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?

RCS works on Apple Watch as far as I can tell.

Agree on the new WhatsApp app, why even have an Apple Watch if you carry a phone around? To do things in a small screen that could be done much better on the big screen, in your pocket?

 

[The Game 161]

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?

So you don’t have to pick up your phone or get it out your pocket. Not like most people leave their phone at home often and just use the watch

 

[bob24]

So you don’t have to pick up your phone or get it out your pocket. Not like most people leave their phone at home often and just use the watch

Using the watch outside home and without the phone is the only benefit of the cellular Apple Watch though.

So anyone who buys a cellular Apple Watch and gets the associated mobile service must be taking their watch outside home without the phone on a regular basis, otherwise there would be absolutely no point in getting the cellular version and paying for the service.

 

[Radvan]

Doesn’t appear to be live in the UK

It is. Just updated and installed

 

[SammyG7]

Just tested with a cellular series 10.

With LTE connection and Bluetooth on, messages send as expected.
With LTE connection and Bluetooth off, nothing will send.

I was excited that it would work as a standalone app, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[svish]

Glad to see this. Was not expecting to see this at least for another few weeks. I don't use the app much but still happy to see Whatsapp now being supported on iPad and watch.

 

[johannnn]

Not like most people leave their phone at home often and just use the watch

What are you arguing for exactly? Imagine if the watch couldn’t do iMessage or calls calendar or reminders without the phone being nearby. Would you still defend it?

 

[sflagel]

What are you arguing for exactly? Imagine if the watch couldn’t do iMessage or calls calendar or reminders without the phone being nearby. Would you still defend it?

I agree. I honestly think that the benefit of “not having to take the phone out of your pocket” is dwarfed by the cumbersomeness of interacting with an app on the tiny screen. And £800 for notifications seems a bit over the top (plus the opportunity cost of not wearing a proper nice watch).

Having an Apple Watch without cellular and without the intention of leaving the phone at home at least sometimes, is an odd choice to say the least. This is the only use case for an Apple Watch.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

I had to delete the app from my watch, because I stopped receiving notifications when it was installed (on my watch.)

 

[The Game 161]

What are you arguing for exactly? Imagine if the watch couldn’t do iMessage or calls calendar or reminders without the phone being nearby. Would you still defend it?

I'm not defending it i'm saying most people use their watch for notifications so you don't need to pull out your phone for everything. obviously whatsapp should be able to work without your phone on cellular. thats a bad miss but i doubt the amount of people leaving their phone at home is that high. most will always have their phones with them unless they go running alot or go for walks and don't want to use their phones.

 

[The Game 161]

Using the watch outside home and without the phone is the only benefit of the cellular Apple Watch though.

So anyone who buys a cellular Apple Watch and gets the associated mobile service must be taking their watch outside home without the phone on a regular basis, otherwise there would be absolutely no point in getting the cellular version and paying for the service.

oh i agree that it should work for this and if you use cellular this makes things pointless but my point was most people will always have their phone with them and if it's in their pocket will often just check their watch and at least this app allows people to do so now.

 

[bob24]

oh i agree that it should work for this and if you use cellular this makes things pointless but my point was most people will always have their phone with them and if it's in their pocket will often just check their watch and at least this app allows people to do so now.

I guess what I’m saying is that if you are arguing that “most people will always have their phone with them”, you’re kind of saying there is almost no market for the cellular Apple Watch (because it is the only point of the cellular version).

So while I agree a majority of people probably don’t mind, if Apple bothers with cellular versions of the watch my point is that the share of users who care about using the watch without a phone nearby probably isn’t as tiny as you think (if it was super niche, Apple wouldn’t bother with separate cellular SKUs).

 

[sflagel]

I guess what I’m saying is that if you are arguing that “most people will always have their phone with them”, you’re kind of saying there is almost no market for the cellular Apple Watch (because it is the only point of the cellular version).

So while I agree a majority of people probably don’t mind, if Apple bothers with cellular versions of the watch my point is that the share of users who care about using the watch without a phone nearby probably isn’t as tiny as you think (if it was super niche, Apple wouldn’t bother with separate cellular SKUs).

As I wrote before, I am surprised there is a market for a non-cellular Apple Watch; i.e., a £400 fitness band. Shows that I know nothing.

 

[Janschi]

It says compatible with watchOS 10.0 or later so It has to work.

No need to change the watch if the app is supported.

Whatsapp support is useless

Doesn't mean though that the hardware is powerful enough to run it.
I know their support is ahh, but no one here knows why the app crashes, so I dont think youll receive a satisfying answer.

 

[.Joel]

Great for WhatsApp users, yet they took away Messenger...sigh...and they are deprecating Messenger on desktop! Boo!

Seriously, though, awesome!

My only use for WhatsApp is on Desktop, if they get rid of that then I have no use for WhatsApp.

 

[javco]

The official WhatsApp app is now available on the Apple Watch for everyone, following a brief beta testing period via TestFlight last week.

The app allows you to send messages, read full messages, send message reactions, record and send voice messages, receive call notifications, and more — all directly on your Apple Watch, with no need to take out your iPhone.

Meta's announcement highlighted some of the key features:

• Call notifications: You can see who's calling without looking at your iPhone.
  
• Full messages: You can read full WhatsApp messages on Apple Watch — even long messages are visible directly from your wrist.
  
• Written messages: You can write out and send messages directly from your watch.
  
• Voice messages: You can record and send voice messages.
  
• Reactions: You can send quick emoji reactions to messages you receive.
  
• A great media experience: You'll see clearer images and stickers on your Apple Watch.
  
• Chat history: You can see more of your chat history on screen when reading messages.

WhatsApp is available on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer running watchOS 10 or later.

A connected iPhone with the WhatsApp app installed is required, and you will need to update the app to the latest version that was released today.

Article Link: WhatsApp Now Available on Apple Watch

Nice to have. My only concern at this moment is that it only allows record 10 seconds audio messages.