Apple Removes Walkie-Talkie From Apple Watch in watchOS 27 Beta

Apple has quietly removed the Walkie-Talkie app from Apple Watch in the first developer beta of watchOS 27, with the app vanishing from both the app list and Control Center.

Walkie-Talkie launched with watchOS 5 in 2018 and allowed Apple Watch users to send push-to-talk voice messages to one another over Wi-Fi or cellular using FaceTime infrastructure. Unlike traditional walkie-talkies, it worked over any distance, making it a novel way to communicate without picking up an iPhone. Despite the promise of the feature at launch, however, Apple gave it very little attention in the years that followed, with no meaningful updates across eight major watchOS releases.

Shortly after its debut, Apple was forced to temporarily disable Walkie-Talkie following the discovery of a security vulnerability that could allow a user to listen through another person's microphone without their knowledge. Apple resolved the issue with a watchOS 5.3 update, but the episode did little to build lasting enthusiasm for the feature.

The app's removal has not been officially confirmed by Apple, but users running the first ‌watchOS 27‌ beta observe that the app is nowhere to be found, with no option to reinstall it.

‌watchOS 27‌ is still in very early beta testing and there remains a slim possibility Apple could reintroduce the app before the software reaches a public release later this year. Given how little attention the feature has received over the years, however, its removal looks more like a quiet retirement than an accidental omission.

A public beta of ‌watchOS 27‌ is set to arrive next month, followed by launch in the fall, likely alongside new Apple Watch models.