Rather than making a phone call or sending a text message, Apple users can have real-time conversations using a Walkie-Talkie feature – but many do not know about its existence.
Apple are known for adding futuristic advancements to their latest devices, including everything from AI Emoji generation to your very own digital assistant Siri, but there’s one feature of the Apple Watch that takes things back to the old days.
The Walkie Talkie app was recently rediscovered by TikTok user @_naniceex, who uploaded a video testing the shocking feature. By pressing a button, she was communicating with her friend from the comfort of her home, captioning the video: “apple watch did its thing with this tho”, and claimed that it was “faster than calling.”
The hilarious TikTok video accumulated over 231k views and over 29k comments. In the short clip, the user was having a conversation with her friend about the outfit she was going to wear, with her receiving an instant reply. The feature came as a shock as many didn’t know about its existence, with some saying they got “sold” by watching the video.
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One commented: “Why don’t they market this more, I would’ve bought an Apple Watch years ago if I knew this,” with another one adding: “Walkie talkie function is so underrated!”
A third one joked: “Lol I would be saying ‘over’ after every sentence for the fun of it,” with a fourth one claiming: “Wait what!? I’ve had an Apple Watch for two years and never knew this.”
Apple introduced the Walkie-Talkie feature on Apple Watch with the release of watchOS 5 in June 2018, allowing users to communicate in real-time. However, a year later, the feature was temporarily unavailable due to a security vulnerability but was brought back in September 2019.
To use the walkie-talkie, users have to have an Apple Watch Series 1 or a newer model with the watchOS 5.5 or latest update. The best thing about this feature is that users don’t have to meet a certain mile-radius to make it work.
However, the walkie-talkie app isn’t available in all countries or regions. If you’re encountering issues finding the Walkie-Talkie app or feature, check if it’s supported in your region by checking on the Apple’s support page.
How to add friends to the Walkie-Talkie app
- Open the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch.
- Scroll through your list of contacts, then tap a name to send an invitation. (Important note: The feature will only work with Apple Watch owners.)
- Once the invitation has been accepted, their contact card will turn yellow, allowing you to have a real-time conversation by pressing the button on the screen.
Users have to be careful to turn off the walkie-talkie function whenever it is not being used to avoid a sudden jump scare. To do so, open the app and at the top of the screen, slide the walkie-talkie button to ‘off’. Alternatively, it can be done via the Control Center, by pressing the side button of the Watch, scrolling down and tapping the Walkie-Talkie icon to turn it off.
Other Apple Watch features include digital keys, family setup, fitness tracker, health monitoring, sleep tracking and SOS and emergency detection.