- Garmin and Meta revealed WhatsApp integration for “select” Garmin watches
- The app, available on the Garmin Connect IQ store, allows users to view up to 10 messages, incoming calls, respond with a built-in keyboard, and react to incoming messages.
- Previously, users could see but not interact with messages through Garmin’s notifications feature.
Garmin and Meta have launched a WhatsApp app for “select” Garmin watches, available on the Garmin Connect IQ store. The app allows users to view a history of up to 10 messages per conversation on a Garmin watch, react to incoming messages and respond using a built-in keyboard.
The app also lets you see incoming calls with the option to decline them.
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Nikhil Joshi, director of product management at Meta, said in a press release that “WhatsApp helps people stay connected, no matter what platform they use. We’re proud to bring WhatsApp to Garmin smartwatches, so more people can continue their private conversations right from their wrist.
This collaboration isn’t particularly surprising: Garmin is slowly moving away from its roots as a company that makes specialized GPS-focused training tools and more toward lifestyle smartwatches, to compete with the top Apple Watch models.
People want brighter, less efficient AMOLED displays rather than duller MIP displays, watches that let you take calls like the Garmin Forerunner 970, and the ability to reply to messages from their wrists.
However, one potential sticking point is the lack of LTE on most Garmin watches, forcing you to stay connected to your phone to use the app. While it’s still convenient (you can respond to messages without reaching into your pocket or bag), Garmin watches don’t act like a miniature phone in the same way that LTE-enabled models from Apple and Samsung do.
If you want to download the new integration, here is the list of compatible Garmin smartwatches, according to the Connect IQ store:
The list isn’t very long: no Instinct series, old Forerunners or one of the best golf watches, like the Garmin Approach S70.
Garmin continues its recent mission to attract more people to its frankly underutilized Connect IQ store with this new WhatsApp integration following last week’s collaboration with the Pokémon Sleep app. Here’s what happened when I tried one of the new Pokémon watch faces for a few days, and how it ended up improving my sleep through emotional blackmail.
The best Garmin watches for every budget
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