Facebook’s latest experimental app ” developed under its alternative brand name ‘NPE Team, from Facebook’ ” is a version of the Messenger app specifically designed for the Apple Watch’s tiny interface.
Not having a full-size phone screen strapped to your wrist can make using the regular Facebook Messenger app a bit of a pain in the arse on your Apple Watch. So the NPE Team has cooked up a new app for the smartwatch called Keep In Touch (KIT) that uses Messenger to send and receive messages ” it just makes it a hell of a lot easier to navigate on the smaller screen, and you won’t need to resort to pulling out our phone to send a coherent message.
The idea is that you can send messages with a single tap, including voice messages, emoij, and location sharing. It’s a bit like iMessage but for your Facebook Messenger contacts. Here’s how to download and use KIT:
- Onboarding: Log in by scanning a QR code on your watch, or by entering an access code at fb.com/devices.
- Contact selection: Select a Messenger connection from your suggested and recent contacts with one click. Tap on “Change Contact” in the settings page to switch.
- Sending a message: Send a message with one tap via audio recording, emoji, location sharing, scribble, or dictation input.
- Receiving Messages: Swipe to see your contact’s messages on the right.
- Notifications: Receive and respond to notifications from your top Messenger contact.
Obviously you need a Messenger account to use KIT, and it doesn’t seem to have rolled out anywhere other than Canada right now, but given the benefits of not having to fumble around for your phone and manhandle it whilst you traverse the outside world right now, Facebook will hopefully get a wriggle on and get this out in other regions sharpish.
This post originally appeared on Gizmodo UK, which is gobbling up the news in a different timezone.