WhatsApp beta update brings official support for Android Wear

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 5 Aug 2014

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Using an Android Wear smartwatch and are an avid WhatsApp user? Here is some good news for you. The team behind WhatsApp has uploaded a new release of the Android client on their website that brings with it official support for Android Wear. 

Apart from the ability to view WhatsApp messages on their wrist, users can also reply to it using their voice. Earlier, WhatsApp notifications would only display a vague “1 new message” but with this update, users would be able to see the complete message.

Another nifty feature is stacked notification that allows users to expand and view multiple messages from different senders.

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The WhatsApp team has been traditionally slow to update their app with new UI guidelines or features. This time though, the team has managed to add official support for Android Wear within weeks of the platform being released, even if it is currently only in beta.

Since the update is not being rolled out via the Play Store, Android Wear users will have to manually sideload the APK from the WhatsApp’s website on their device, which in turn will automatically install the companion Android Wear app as well.

[Via 9to5Google]