What you need to know
- Samsung has released a new WalkieTalkie app for its latest Galaxy smartwatches.
- The app allows you to use your Galaxy Watch as a Walkie Talkie to have instant conversations.
- Samsung's WalkieTalkie app isn't compatible with older Galaxy smartwatches.
Samsung has quietly released a new app that allows Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic users to have instant conversations, "just like if they were using a walkie-talkie" (via XDA Developers). It uses Bluetooth to look for nearby friends and create your Walkie-Talkie channel.
Unsurprisingly, the new app isn't compatible with older Galaxy smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch Active 2, which run on Samsung's own Tizen platform.
To use the new app, you must register your Samsung account on a phone that is connected to your Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Samsung recommends using the WalkieTalkie app while your watch is connected to your phone when you run it for the very first time. After you are done setting up the app, however, the watch doesn't have to stay connected to your smartphone for the feature to work.
Once you install the WalkieTalkie app on your watch, you'll have to pair it with another Galaxy Watch 4 series smartwatch nearby. Next, touch and hold the microphone icon on the watch to start talking with friends and family members in your Contacts. Aside from your watch's microphone, the app also requires contacts and call permissions to work as intended. Needless to say, most users will likely not find the app to be super useful. Samsung is also not the first to offer this feature on a smartwatch. Apple has been offering a similar feature on its best smartwatches since 2018.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 is a follow-up to the extremely popular Galaxy Watch Active 2. The fitness-focused Wear OS 3 smartwatch offers great battery life, an attractive design, and a long list of useful health tracking features.
