The official WhatsApp application is finally available for download on all smartwatches with Wear OS 3 and later versions
WhatsApp is finally available on smartwatches running Wear OS 3 and later. After the rumours leaked during the previous Google I/O a few hours ago, Meta ( Mark Zuckerberg’s company that owns, among other things, also WhatsApp) confirmed that the app can finally be downloaded also on smartwatches with Google’s operating system, allowing users to manage their conversations even without first switching from their smartphone, as has happened up to now.
With the officialization of WhatsApp, Wear OS opens up third-party applications with the possibility of further expanding the potential of these smart watches with a series of increasingly advanced functions designed to make these devices truly indispensable for users. Among the new arrivals, there will also be Spotify, which should be available soon.
WhatsApp On Wear OS: Compatible Devices
As just said, to use this new version of WhatsApp, you will need to have a smartwatch compatible with Wear OS 3, Wear OS 3.5, or the later version that should come with the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, which will be made official during the next week’s Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event.
Furthermore, all smartwatches with LTE connectivity will be able to use WhatsApp even without a smartphone, a more than interesting solution for interacting with the messaging application anytime, even when users may not have their phone. In this case, it will be more convenient to send and receive voice messages rather than text messages.
The new app is ready to be installed on all compatible smartwatches and to download it, all you need to do is go to the Google Play Store on your smartwatch and download it, exactly as you would with the smartphone version. Once the installation and all the necessary configurations have been completed (in particular, the addition of the smartwatch to multi-device WhatsApp ), you can use the app as usual.
Among the first devices with a compatible version of Wear OS are Google’s Pixel Watch, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 and 5, and Mobil’s Tic Watch Pro 5.
How WhatsApp Works On Wear OS
This version of the application will fully reflect the functionality of the official one for smartphones. We are not talking about simple incoming notifications to which it is possible to reply with pre-set messages. First, users can see incoming notifications and all the conversations on their accounts.
Then it will be possible to start new conversations with your contacts and, of course, receive voice calls to be answered directly from the smartwatch using the built-in microphone and speaker or via wireless earphones. It will also be possible to use famous voice messages, send emojis, write a reply text to a message and, very interestingly, use quick replies present by the smartwatch.
Despite the many affinities with the classic version of WhatsApp, we must consider all the limitations of the case dictated by the small display size of such a device which could make it difficult to use the application, especially for those with rather large fingers. To be honest, it is possible to pronounce the message aloud so that the voice recognition software transcribes it, a function certainly not ideal for privacy but still effective for solving the problem.
Also Read: How To Use Nearby Share comes In Windows
