I’m the type of person who turns on automatic updates for all of my gadgets, especially my iPhone and Apple Watch, seeing that they go hand-in-hand.
So, when I saw the notification for the official watchOS 27 update pop up, I immediately scheduled it to install overnight. As much as the new software brought critical security updates to my Apple Watch, my excitement was aimed at all the new features it introduced — like the new single-tap gesture control.
Everything went smoothly until the next day, when I realized something was amiss. Normally, I’d see the complication for the Walkie-Talkie app, but it was nowhere in sight. I thought it might’ve reset with the update, so I tried looking through the app list to find it.
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However, it was completely gone. After a quick search, I found out that Apple killed off my favorite feature, and I think it’s making a big mistake. Here’s why.
Unlike anything else on another smartwatch
Having strapped nearly every major wearable to my wrist over the years, I can tell you that most smartwatches blur together. Whether they’re running Wear OS, Garmin OS, or proprietary fitness software, they all stick to the exact same playbook: sending notifications, tracking heart rate, and letting you take the occasional call from the wrist.
Yet, when I stumbled upon the Walkie-Talkie app on my Apple Watch several years ago, it quickly became one of the few tools I used religiously. It was truly distinct — a feature you simply couldn’t find on rival platforms, and one that made immediate practical sense.
It wasn’t trying to duplicate a standard phone call. Instead, Walkie-Talkie delivered a purpose-built wrist experience, turning the Apple Watch into a genuine push-to-talk communicator. I can’t tell you how many times I relied on it — like whenever my partner and I split up while shopping on opposite sides of a store.
Then there were all the coffee runs where I’d inevitably forget her exact order. With Walkie-Talkie, I could get an immediate answer without the hassle and delays of dialing an actual phone call.
Other alternatives, but they share the same flaw
I’m devastated by Apple’s decision to kill off the Walkie-Talkie app. I’ve read through this Reddit post and understand how some users experienced hiccups using it, but I found it to be pretty reliable. Since finding out it’s been eliminated with the watchOS 27 update, I’ve been looking at my options.
A quick search through the watchOS App Store reveals plenty of third-party push-to-talk options that could fill the void. But none of them capture the magic of Apple’s original feature because they lack native system integration.
Instead of working out of the box using your existing Apple ID and iCloud contacts, these alternatives force you and your recipient to set up accounts and jump through account registration screens. It doesn’t help either when these alternatives all have single reviews, so they really stop me in my tracks from pursuing them further.
I’m back to phone calls and it’s just not the same
Without Walkie-Talkie, I’m forced back to standard phone calls, and it’s annoying. The whole thing is a process compared to the push-to-talk simplicity I was used to: I need to find my contact and wait for them to pick up.
The experience pales in comparison because with Walkie-Talkie, I was able to bypass all that and send my message instantly. If you’ve used the Drop-In feature on Amazon Echo devices, you know exactly how Walkie-Talkie felt.
Walkie-Talkie lived in that perfect middle ground between a voice message you might not hear for an hour and an intrusive live call. I really hope Apple reconsiders this and resurrects push-to-talk in a future watchOS update.
Whether it returns as a redesigned system app or evolves into a cross-device tool integrated directly into Messages, the Apple Watch desperately needs that effortless voice connection back.
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