WhatsApp Slips Onto Apple Watch, Finally
The messaging giant quietly lands on your wrist, with voice, emoji, and message support—but don’t expect it to replace your phone just yet.
- WhatsApp introduces new app for Apple Watch users
- App supports reading, writing, and sending messages
- Available for Apple Watch Series 4 and later
It’s been a long time coming, but WhatsApp is finally making a home on the Apple Watch.
As of November 4, users with a Series 4 or newer—running watchOS 10 or later—can now send and receive messages from their wrist without reaching for their phone.
The app supports reading full chats, replying with text or voice, sending emoji reactions, and getting call notifications. It’s WhatsApp, scaled down for small screens and short replies.
Voice messages are included too, which might be the most natural fit for a wrist-based interface. And as with the phone app, all messages and calls are protected with end-to-end encryption, according to the company.
This is WhatsApp’s first proper watchOS app, and it’s launching with the basics. That’s intentional. The team says more features will roll out over time, shaped by user feedback—which sounds like shorthand for “we’re watching to see what people actually do with it.”
The Apple Watch has long been a platform built around glances and gestures, not long threads or typing marathons. So while the WhatsApp watch app brings a useful slice of functionality, it’s more about staying in the loop than deep conversations.
In other words: this isn’t your new messaging hub. It’s the ping, not the paragraph.
