Facebook Messenger will remove its app from Apple Watch

Shockingly for Apple Watch owners, Meta’s Messenger app will be gone in just a few days, though users will still be able to see incoming messages.

Meta is ending its Messenger app for Apple Watch on May 31, the company has confirmed. Apple Watch users who have installed the app are notified ” that after May 31, Messenger will no longer be available as an Apple Watch app, but you will still be able to receive Messenger notifications on your watch “.

The Messenger app was introduced on the Apple Watch in 2015 with the ability to send audio clips, stickers and reply messages from the smartwatch, but did not allow the bearer to send text replies. Typing a message on the small screen isn’t a very fun or easy thing to do anyway.

End clap for Messenger on Apple Watch

Over the years, many developers have dropped support for the Apple Watch. A number of top app makers, including Google Maps, Amazon, eBay, Slack and Target, have opted out of their standalone apps for the Apple Watch, and now it’s Meta’s turn to drop the app. one of his.

Apple has gradually diverted from promoting the Apple Watch as an app home, with the company focusing on fitness and health functions as a core feature. Recent rumors suggest that Apple intends to make interactive widgets a big part of its watchOS 10 redesign, which has been interpreted as evidence that dedicated apps haven’t proven popular enough.

Several factors could explain Meta’s decision. First of all, the limited interaction hurt the appeal of the app. This may have affected his potential audience. Meta is also laying off around 10,000 employees and refocusing its efforts in an effort to cut costs. That means scrapping less essential projects, and presumably Messenger for the Apple Watch wasn’t a top priority.

Nevertheless, on the Android side, Meta adopts a completely different strategy. As we reported a few days ago, the company has just launched a WhatsApp application on connected watches under Wear OS 3. The company is therefore not turning away from the watch market in general, but just from Apple Watch . As a reminder, the Meta Messenger application should disappear as of May 31.