WhatsApp Adds Voice Replies to Android Wear App

Forget tapping and swiping. WhatsApp's latest update brings voice replies to its Android Wear app, which means you can dictate your replies directly into your smartwatch.

You'll have to download the latest version (2.11.320) to your phone via WhatsApp's download page as the update still isn't in the Play store yet. As noted by Android Wear enthusiasts at the XDA Developers forum, you'll need at least version 2.11.319 to see the new features. After installing the latest APK, you might have to restart your watch and phone for the new features to be activated.

MORE: The Best Android Wear Apps So Far

With the updated app, you can tap reply from your smartwatch after receiving a message, and compose a response by saying it. The new version also lets you read full messages instead of a truncated notification, according to Ubergizmo.

The messaging client is popular the world over, thanks to its free texting and group chat features, along with multi-platform compatibility. You'll have to pay 99 cents a year to use WhatsApp (after the first year), but updates are free. The chat program joins 43 apps (as of Aug 4) that are optimized for Google's wrist-friendly operating system.

Staff Writer Cherlynn Low has been using WhatsApp for 5 years, but never from her wrist. Follow her @cherlynnlow and on Google+. Follow Tom's Guide at @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.

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Cherlynn is Deputy Editor, Reviews at Engadget and also leads the site's Google reporting. She graduated with a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University before joining Tom's Guide and its sister site LaptopMag as a staff writer, where she covered wearables, cameras, laptops, computers and smartphones, among many other subjects.