Apple Watch's Quirkiest App May Be Gone for Good
Remember Walkie-Talkie? Apple is apparently betting you won't.
The push-to-talk app has vanished from the first developer beta of watchOS 27, disappearing from both the app list and Control Center, with no way to bring it back. Apple hasn't said why, but it's probably because not many people used it.
If you include yourself in that cohort, here's a quick explainer.
Walkie-Talkie arrived with watchOS 5 back in 2018 and let two Apple Watch wearers send quick voice clips to each other over Wi-Fi or cellular, using the FaceTime architecture under the hood. It was niche for sure, but the people who used it likely really loved it.
Apple, for its part, mostly ignored it. Eight major watchOS releases came and went without a meaningful update, save for an emergency shutdown in 2018 after a bug let someone eavesdrop through your mic.
Could it return before the fall, when watchOS 27 is released to the general public? Technically yes, since we're still in early beta territory. But this comes across as more like a quiet burial for the app. If so, RIP Walkie-Talkie.
Popular Stories
Apple has published a support document describing what to do if your Apple Watch continues to show time that's off by one hour after daylight savings time changes. "This incorrect time appears only on the Always On display when your wrist is down," says Apple. "When you activate the display by tapping it or raising your wrist, the time changes to the correct hour."
To fix the issue, Apple says ...
With the first beta of watchOS 27.3, Apple is introducing new Audio Intelligence features it previewed for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 earlier this year. Powered by the S11 chip, Audio Intelligence includes Live Rewind, Siri Recap, Sound Recognition, and Shazam Music Recognition.
Sound Recognition and Shazam are already on the watch, but Live Rewind and Siri Recap are now available ...
Some Apple Watch users running watchOS 27 are reporting a daylight saving glitch after clocks went back in the UK and Europe on Sunday. In a MacRumors forums thread, five users – several in the UK and central Europe – say their watch shows the correct time when activated, but the Always-On display keeps showing summer time, leaving it an hour fast.
The problem has also been reported in...
