WhatsApp is officially coming to the Apple Watch, with a new WatchOS app that supports chats, voice messages and call notifications.
The Meta-owned chat app announced the launch in a Tuesday blog post. The update should provide better access to WhatsApp’s suite of features when using an Apple Watch. Previously, Apple Watch owners could only reply to WhatsApp conversations when they received a notification of an incoming message. Now, the WatchOS app should provide users with the flexibility to send and receive messages and access a chat’s history at any time.
WhatsApp said the new Apple Watch app will also support images and stickers, and will preserve end-to-end encryption for conversations. The app will run on the Apple Watch Series 4 and later, provided the watch is running on at least WatchOS 10.
Given that my own first-generation Apple Watch SE can’t update to WatchOS 11 or WatchOS 26, I’m glad the chat service will be available to many of us who haven’t recently upgraded to a newer Apple Watch.
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WhatsApp has been available as a WearOS app since 2023, launching for Android-powered wearables such as Google’s Pixel Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch. Meanwhile, the Meta-owned Facebook Messenger app discontinued its Apple Watch app back in 2023.
WhatsApp says that this initial Apple Watch launch is the start of a better chat experience for the wrist-worn device.
A company representative told CNET that the current edition of the app requires an iPhone to be powered on and nearby to function, and it likely won’t work when an Apple Watch is connected over cellular while your iPhone is off. That’s different from WhatsApp’s Linked Devices feature, which allows computers, tablets and other phones to access WhatsApp regardless of whether your phone is powered on.
