The Facebook Messenger and BBM apps beat it to the punch, but finally, Google Hangouts is now available on the Apple Watch.
On Monday, Google released an update to the iOS version of its Hangouts messaging app and subtly included in the update is that Hangouts now works on the Apple Watch, as reported by Slash Gear.
As of Tuesday before noon EST, the Hangouts page within the iOS Apps Store includes screen shots of how the updated app looks on the iPhone and even iPad, but there's none for the Apple Watch — nor even any mention of the wearable.
Slash Gear reports that Hangouts will allow Apple Watch users to read incoming messages and reply, but that sending a written response entails only using a few pre-written choices. Otherwise, users will have to stick to dictating a message with their voices on the device.
To get the latest version of Hangouts — 6.1 — open up the iOS Apps Store and download it, letting your fingers and voice do the rest of the work on your Apple Watch.
Although Hangouts arrives to the Apple Watch well after Facebook Messenger and even BlackBerry's BBM social networking app, it's significant for Google to have presence on its biggest competitor in the smartwatch wearable tech space. After all, what's better than hanging out with the competition?
Although Apple Watch users will be limited to mostly voice-dictated replies on Hangouts, they can always reply to the app's notifications using their iPhones as well.
