Meta is notifying users of the Facebook Messenger Apple Watch app that it will be discontinued at the end of the month, ending the ability to reply to messages on the wrist.
Posts shared on Twitter show off the same screenshot of an Apple Watch notification signaling that the Messenger app will no longer be available after 31 May, though accessing notifications will still be possible from the smartwatch.
No reason has been provided by Meta, but it does mean yet another of the OG Apple Watch apps - first introduced in 2015 - is disappearing for users.
Aside from replying from the wrist, the app also allowed users to send voice clips, stickers, and likes, all without having to open up the phone.
Among the other notable discontinued apps are Twitter, Uber, Instagram, and Slack, with some citing user uptake and others hinting at a lack of resources.
NOT HAPPY @Apple @messenger #applewatch #wtf pic.twitter.com/B81aK6EUf3
— Amanda Nova (@M_anda_M) May 9, 2023
Whatever the reason for the Messenger app's demise, it's the second blow Meta has delivered to Apple in as many days, with a long-awaited official WhatsApp app being announced for Wear OS before Apple's platform.
With the watchOS 10 reveal seemingly just around the corner - and reportedly set to provide the most significant change to the operating system since it first arrived - it's possible Apple is sitting on a plan to arrest some of the watch's app store decline.
It's been suggested in rumors that widgets will be a headline addition through watchOS 10, for example, working similarly to Wear OS Tiles, and this could prove to be more accessible for both users and developers. We won't know for sure, of course, until WWDC 2023 in early June.
In the meantime, then, pour one out for the Messenger app.
How we test
Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.
Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides.
He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror.