WhatsApp has released a native watchOS app for Apple Watch, but only for iOS beta testers through TestFlight. The app works as a companion to your iPhone and brings core messaging to the wrist. You need a connected iPhone to use it.
The companion app lets you read chats, send quick replies, react to messages, and record voice notes. WABetaInfo, which tracks WhatsApp betas, says testers can handle basic conversations without relying on watch notifications alone.
Until now, WhatsApp’s own help pages stated, “There’s no official WhatsApp app for Apple Watch.” Today’s beta changes that long-standing gap, even if Meta has not announced a public release window yet.
How the beta works
Testers access the watch app through the latest WhatsApp for iOS beta on TestFlight. Apple’s TestFlight program distributes pre-release builds to invited users, which is why you will not find this watch app in the public App Store yet.
Apple Watch owners have asked for a real WhatsApp app for years. The beta suggests Meta is finally aligning its iOS experience with the Wear OS companion it launched earlier.
If testing goes smoothly, Apple Watch users should soon have a reliable way to handle quick WhatsApp conversations from the wrist, not just triage notifications.
