After Meta released a beta version of WhatsApp for Wear OS 3 in May, the final version of the app was released today. It will take a few days to complete the rollout and WhatsApp will be available to download worldwide. With this release, users of a Google Pixel Watch (approx. 315 euros on Amazon), a Samsung Galaxy Watch4, a Galaxy Watch5 and a Mobvoi TicWatch 5 Pro, ahead of the Apple Watch.
The native Wear OS 3 app allows you to start new conversations, reply to incoming messages and even make WhatsApp calls directly from the smartwatch. Group chats are also supported. Users can choose to respond to messages using text, emoji, a voice message, or a predefined response option. If you own a Wear OS 3 smartwatch with an integrated LTE modem, you can use WhatsApp on the go without a smartphone.
For selected features, however, users still have to use other devices, for example to view WhatsApp stories. The timing of this rollout shouldn’t be a coincidence. In about a week, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Watch6, which is likely to be the first Wear OS 4-based smartwatch. The Galaxy Unpacked launch event gives Google, Meta and Samsung a chance to demonstrate the new app, along with some other software innovations , like the revamped Spotify app with additional Tiles, the long-overdue backup option, and improved health and fitness features.
Since 2009 I have been writing for various publications in the technology sector until I joined the Notebookcheck news department in 2018. Since then I have combined my many years of experience in the field of notebooks and smartphones with my lifelong passion for technology to inform our readers about new developments on the market. My design background as art director of an advertising agency also allows me deep insights into the peculiarities of this industry.