WhatsApp expands to Apple Watch, offering full messaging from your wrist
WhatsApp has released a full-featured Apple Watch app, letting users read, respond, and manage chats—with features like call alerts, voice notes, and media—directly on their watch.
WhatsApp has launched a dedicated watchOS app, enabling users to interact with chats entirely from their Apple Watch—from viewing full messages to sending voice notes and emoji reactions.
What We Know
WhatsApp released a standalone Apple Watch app on November 4, 2025. The app brings core functions to the wrist: reading full WhatsApp messages, writing or dictating responses, sending voice messages and emoji reactions, receiving call notifications, and viewing images, stickers, and extended chat history. The experience maintains end‑to‑end encryption. It supports Apple Watch Series 4 or later running watchOS 10 or higher, and requires a paired iPhone with the updated WhatsApp app. This follows a brief beta via TestFlight earlier in October. Users have reported app crashes and messaging delays on older models, including Series 4, Series 5, and first-gen Watch SE, and Meta says it is addressing these issues.
What It Means
This marks a strategic expansion of WhatsApp’s presence within the Apple ecosystem, offering the platform’s most comprehensive wearable experience yet. By eliminating reliance on iPhone-only access and notifications, WhatsApp meets growing demand for more independent and seamless interaction on smartwatches. That said, early reliability issues on older hardware may limit adoption until stability improves.
The Backstory
WhatsApp had previously offered only limited support on wearables, primarily through notification mirroring. Developers began testing a native watchOS client via TestFlight in late October. Parallel efforts included a dedicated iPad app launching earlier in 2025 to spread platform reach beyond smartphone-only access.
What’s Next
Meta indicates that this initial launch is only the beginning, promising expanded functionality in future updates. Meanwhile, resolving stability issues on older watch models will likely be their immediate priority, with fixes expected soon based on user reports and developer response.
