Facebook Messenger kills Apple Watch app as WhatsApp arrives on Wear OS
Facebook Messenger, one of Meta’s chat apps, is bidding goodbye to Apple Watch. The company has decided to shut down Facebook Messenger’s Apple Watch app a day after it introduced the Wear OS version of the most popular chat app, WhatsApp Messenger.
According to PiunikaWeb (via Review Geek), some users began an alert in the Facebook Messenger app for Apple Watch. The alert titled “Changes to Messenger on Apple Watch” suggested that the app is retiring on June 1. It also said that Apple Watch users will only be able to get notifications from Messenger for iPhone. Because the Facebook Messenger app will not be available for Apple Watch, you will not be able to respond to messages or interact with notifications.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the latest development and told Review Geek that the iPhone, desktop, and web apps are how you can interact with Facebook Messenger. Meta, however, has not publicly said anything about the departure of the Messenger app from watchOS. The alerts are also aimed at a select few Apple Watch users, so not all users are aware of this upcoming change. It is also unclear why Meta has decided to kill Messenger for the Apple Watch app, but it is one of the many apps that have met the same fate.
NOT HAPPY @Apple @messenger #applewatch #wtf pic.twitter.com/B81aK6EUf3
— Amanda Nova (@M_anda_M) May 9, 2023
Is Apple Watch the problem?
Apple Watch has lately been losing apps left, right, and centre. While the reason is unclear, Apple is expected to make things better with the launch of watchOS 10. Reports suggest watchOS will feature Apple’s biggest overhaul in years, but it may be far from making Apple Watch’s operating system more feasible for apps. There may be a widget-based UI on the Apple Watch, which could bring less focus on third-party apps. That means dedicated apps have not been successful on the Apple Watch.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the new watchOS 10 will not offer an iPhone-like app experience because it “doesn’t always make sense on a watch” since “Apple Watch apps have barely caught on.” That means Apple may drift away from an app-centric UI to one where widgets offer a better experience to Apple Watch users. But it may not happen at once. Gurman said the widget-based interface may be optional to give familiarity to people who are used to accessing apps. The focus on software this year may be Apple’s way to compensate for the lack of a major hardware upgrade on the upcoming Apple Watch.
The post Facebook Messenger kills Apple Watch app as WhatsApp arrives on Wear OS appeared first on Techlusive.
Facebook Messenger, one of Meta’s chat apps, is bidding goodbye to Apple Watch. The company has decided to shut down Facebook Messenger’s Apple Watch app a day after it introduced the Wear OS version of the most popular chat app, WhatsApp Messenger.
According to PiunikaWeb (via Review Geek), some users began an alert in the Facebook Messenger app for Apple Watch. The alert titled “Changes to Messenger on Apple Watch” suggested that the app is retiring on June 1. It also said that Apple Watch users will only be able to get notifications from Messenger for iPhone. Because the Facebook Messenger app will not be available for Apple Watch, you will not be able to respond to messages or interact with notifications.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the latest development and told Review Geek that the iPhone, desktop, and web apps are how you can interact with Facebook Messenger. Meta, however, has not publicly said anything about the departure of the Messenger app from watchOS. The alerts are also aimed at a select few Apple Watch users, so not all users are aware of this upcoming change. It is also unclear why Meta has decided to kill Messenger for the Apple Watch app, but it is one of the many apps that have met the same fate.
NOT HAPPY @Apple @messenger #applewatch #wtf pic.twitter.com/B81aK6EUf3
— Amanda Nova (@M_anda_M) May 9, 2023
Is Apple Watch the problem?
Apple Watch has lately been losing apps left, right, and centre. While the reason is unclear, Apple is expected to make things better with the launch of watchOS 10. Reports suggest watchOS will feature Apple’s biggest overhaul in years, but it may be far from making Apple Watch’s operating system more feasible for apps. There may be a widget-based UI on the Apple Watch, which could bring less focus on third-party apps. That means dedicated apps have not been successful on the Apple Watch.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the new watchOS 10 will not offer an iPhone-like app experience because it “doesn’t always make sense on a watch” since “Apple Watch apps have barely caught on.” That means Apple may drift away from an app-centric UI to one where widgets offer a better experience to Apple Watch users. But it may not happen at once. Gurman said the widget-based interface may be optional to give familiarity to people who are used to accessing apps. The focus on software this year may be Apple’s way to compensate for the lack of a major hardware upgrade on the upcoming Apple Watch.
The post Facebook Messenger kills Apple Watch app as WhatsApp arrives on Wear OS appeared first on Techlusive.
