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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the first WhatsApp smartwatch app is now available on Wear OS. Starting today, you can begin new conversations, reply to messages, and answer calls from Android smartwatches.

Wear OS is an Android operating system designed for smartwatches, and the latest update of WhatsApp beta for Android is finally compatible with it. Available on watches that run Wear OS 3, users will no longer need their phone with them to stay connected, and can respond to friends and family using their voice, emojis, quick replies, or text.

WhatsApp is not available as an app on the Apple Watch. Google’s platform is the first smartwatch platform to have official support for WhatsApp. As per reports, WhatsApp will prompt you when attempting to link your WhatsApp account to a Wear OS device. When linking the smartwatch app to your WhatsApp account, an 8-digit code will appear on the watch by prompting the user to enter the code on their device.

After entering the code, your chats will safely be synced across your devices so you can start using WhatsApp on your smartwatch. Please note that messaging on the smartwatch app still preserves end-to-end encryption as this relies on multi-device capabilities.

The timing of the rollout is interesting because Samsung is scheduled to release its next-gen Galaxy Watch 6 series on July 26. The South Korean giant has been collaborating closely with Google to enhance the Wear OS for smartwatches. Google has been actively improving the OS since the Pixel Watch was introduced.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has added a new feature that allows users to start chats with unknown people by searching for their phone numbers, without saving them in the address book. It is available to users who install the latest versions of WhatsApp for iOS and Android.

With this feature, the Meta-owned app is making it easier for users to start conversations without saving contacts to their address book.