How to Use the Walkie

Jun 19, 2023

The Apple Watch does more than tell the time. You can use it to make phone calls, send text messages, and write emails. You can listen to music, tune into your favorite podcast, and even track your sleep.

Now with the watchOS 5 update, your device can be used to communicate with other Apple Watch users through the Walkie-Talkie feature. As long as you and your friend both have watchOS 5 or higher, you will be able to talk and listen via Walkie-Talkie directly through your watch—meaning headphones are not required.

The good news is that both Wi-Fi-only and cellular-enabled watches are able to use this feature. Either connect to a nearby Wi-Fi network or use your data plan to make a call over your Apple Watch, and you don't even have to worry about your phone. The only catch is that Walkie-Talkie uses FaceTime audio to communicate, so you also need to set up FaceTime on your phones in order to connect your devices.

Be aware that the setup and interface for Walkie-Talkie is clumsy, and it works only with the Apple Watch. You can't use it to talk to someone on an iPhone or iPad. Hopefully, Apple will improve and enhance the app as time goes on, but despite its limitations, Walkie-Talkie is worth taking for a spin.

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If you need to respond to an invitation, swipe down from the top of the watch face to see the latest notifications. Tap the invitation and then tap Always Allow to always accept Walkie-Talkie calls from the person who sent it. You can also check and respond to invitations through the Walkie-Talkie settings in the My Watch app on an iPhone.

If you have sent out invitations yourself, you will see a notification that the person has accepted, and then you can use Walkie-Talkie to talk to each other.

You can tap on a person's name to initiate contact. The app will tell you that it's trying to connect. Once the connection is established, hold down the Talk button to talk to the other person. Release the button to allow the other person to respond. Continue the conversation this way, holding down the Talk button when it's your turn to say something and then releasing the button to listen to the other person.

If ever there is a time where one user tries to call another but there is no response, a missed called notification will be left.

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