During Apple’s keynote in September, they announced that Facebook Messenger would be coming to the Apple Watch, as long as you’ve updated to watchOS 2. Well, it’s here.
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You can now share things like voice clips, likes and stickers from your Apple Watch. From my experience, little interactions like this are what works best on the Watch. I’ve found that as soon as I have to do anything more than pick a person and an action, things go haywire. Sure, there’s a lot more to do with watchOS, but I’d say that 2 is lightyears ahead of what the device shipped with.
When Messenger for Apple Watch was first announced, our own Josh Constine said:
The more platform ubiquity Facebook Messenger can achieve, the stronger its network effect will be entrenched. Each time a friend messages you from Facebook Messenger, it draws you closer to the Facebook ecosystem. Each time they text you from SMS or another app (other than WhatsApp), it pulls you further away. That’s why despite Apple Watch’s relatively small user base, being there is important for Facebook.
Welp, they’re there now.
Along with Apple Watch support, Facebook Messenger for iOS gained spotlight integration and multi-tasking for iPad. Spotlight integration is super clutch, because you can now easily search through your Messenger contacts and messages without opening the app.