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More than two months since it debuted in beta, WhatsApp on Wear OS is finally available for the public now. You can install it from the Play Store on your Wear OS 3-powered watch or through the connected smartphone. Here’s how to install it. We have tried it and here’s what we think.
Before we begin, note that this works on Wear OS 3 watches only and so Wear OS 2 and other legacy smartwatches aren’t supported. With that out of the way, let’s start.
1. You could either push the download to your Wear OS smartwatch from the Play Store on your connected smartphone or download it right from the Play Store on your watch. If you want WhatsApp Wear OS apk, you can also download WhatsApp Messenger (Wear OS) 2.23.14.81 from apkmirror or similar trusted sources.
2. Once it is installed on the watch, tap on the WhatsApp icon on the smartwatch’s app drawer.
3. Open it and you will be shown a string of codes that you have to enter into WhatsApp on your phone. This links/pairs WhatsApp on both devices.
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4. Now, when you receive a WhatsApp notification on your watch, below the message, you will see an option to Open on Watch. Clicking this opens the message within the WhatsApp Messenger on the watch. You can read it and reply to it via text or audio. Beneath the message, you’ll see the buttons to record a voice response or the keyboard to type out the reply.
5. You can also straight up open the WhatsApp app from the watch’s app library and get a list of recent contacts (in the order it appears on the phone version). Tap on the one you like to chat with and continue the conversation. You can also see the entire conversation history and not just the recent message.
The app also lets you continue the conversation on the phone. You just have to tap on the option called Open on Phone.
There is a complication that shows the unread message count and it works in Always On mode too. Additionally, you get a tile named WhatsApp Contacts to quickly start a textual conversation and another tile called WhatsApp Voice Messages to send voice notes to people from recent chats right away.
This may not be the full-fledged WhatsApp experience that you get on your phone yet, but it is close and has the essential features to prove very useful to Wear OS users. You don’t have to take out the phone always. Especially if you are in a situation wherein you can’t easily access the phone, this can come in handy.
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If your watch supports cellular connectivity, the app works standalone over LTE on the watch. That’s even better.
But, typing on the small keyboard is a hassle for sure, especially if you have big fingers.
Also, readability could be a problem for some. You may not find the interface as intuitive as it is on the bigger screen phone.
So, there are trade-offs but we think the positives outweigh these minor inconveniences. In other words, we are glad that we can finally have quick and brief WhatsApp interactions on the wrist itself. Thanks, Meta!