In the ever-changing technology landscape, WhatsApp, Meta's flagship messaging app, has taken a significant step: the introduction of its app for Wear OS smartwatches. This move represents a significant expansion of WhatsApp's functionality, bringing instant messaging directly to users' wrists.
WhatsApp arrives on Wear OS: smartwatches begin to update officially
The new WhatsApp app for Wear OS offers a number of features that allow users to manage their conversations more efficiently. Among these, the possibility of start new conversations, reply to messages and manage calls directly from the smartwatch. Additionally, users can reply to messages using voicemail, emoji, plain text, and quick replies. For those who own a Wear OS 3 smartwatch with LTE support, the app allows you to reply to messages without the need to have the phone nearby.
Read also: Google announces Wear OS 4 for smartwatches. What changes?
The arrival of WhatsApp on Wear OS comes at a crucial moment, with the Samsung Unpacked event scheduled for next week. During the event, we expect to see the new Galaxy Watch 6 and, if the entries are correct, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. Both smartwatches could be the first to run Wear OS 4, following on the heels of the Galaxy Watch 4 which was the first to debut Wear OS 3. The launch of the WhatsApp app now could therefore create a significant boost for the event, making Wear OS more appealing to WhatsApp's 2.24 billion active users.
This launch also represents an opportunity for Meta's expand its presence in the wearables sector, especially after shelving its smartwatch ambitions last year. It also comes in the context of Google's efforts to strengthen the Wear OS ecosystem of third-party apps. In addition to WhatsApp, Google has announced that Spotify will be releasing new Tiles for its app this year.
Through | The Verge
