WhatsApp Apple Watch App Finally Launches After 10-Year Wait

Meta just dropped a standalone WhatsApp app for Apple Watch, and yeah, it only took a decade. The app lets you send messages, record voice notes, and check who's calling without touching your iPhone.

The wait's been ridiculous when you think about it. Apple Watch came out in 2015, and WhatsApp's been on iPhone since 2009. But better late than never, right?

What You Can Actually Do With It

The new app isn't just notification mirroring anymore. Meta's official announcement shows you can read full messages on your wrist, even the long ones that used to get cut off.

Voice messages work now too. Just record straight from your watch and send it. No need to pull out your phone while you're cooking, driving, or just don't feel like grabbing it.

You can fire off quick emoji reactions to messages. Type out replies using the keyboard, Scribble, or dictation. And when calls come through, you'll see who it is right on your watch face.

The Tech Requirements

You'll need an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer running watchOS 10. Older models won't work with this.

And here's the catch - your iPhone still needs to be nearby with WhatsApp installed. This isn't a fully standalone app. It's more like a really good companion that needs the phone connection to function.

Why It Took So Long

Meta's had a weird relationship with Apple Watch apps. They made one for Instagram years ago, then killed it. Facebook had one too, then pulled it.

The Apple Watch platform has been around for 10 years now. WhatsApp has over 2 billion users worldwide. Yet somehow the iPad app only showed up in May 2025.

It's not like Meta doesn't have the resources. They bought WhatsApp back in 2014 for $19 billion. That's a lot of developer hours they could've thrown at a watch app.

What About Privacy?

All your messages stay end-to-end encrypted, just like on your phone. Meta says nothing changes there, which is good because that's kind of WhatsApp's whole thing.

The Competition Already Had This

Telegram's had an Apple Watch app for ages. iMessage obviously works great on Apple Watch because, well, Apple. Even BlackBerry made a BBM app for the original Apple Watch back in 2015.

So WhatsApp's basically playing catch-up here. But with their massive user base, this'll probably become one of the most-used Apple Watch apps pretty quickly.

What's Coming Next

Meta says this is just the start. They're planning more features based on user feedback, though they didn't specify what exactly.

Status updates would be nice. Maybe better media handling. The ability to actually make calls from the watch instead of just seeing notifications.

For now though, you've got the basics. Messages, voice notes, reactions, and call alerts. If that's all you need, the app's rolling out globally in the App Store right now.

Just make sure you update WhatsApp on your iPhone first, or the watch app won't activate properly. Some users needed to restart both devices to get it working.