Facebook already offers a Messenger app for the Apple Watch, but the company’s experimental development team has decided to offer up another option, this one focusing on messaging only your closest contacts.
TechCrunch revealed the new experimental app today, what’s called “Kit“. It’s a product of Facebook’s new product experimentation (NPE) team, and it’s designed to make messaging your closest friends simple and easy right from your smartwatch. Kit stands for “Keep in Touch”, and it’s available in the App Store for Apple Watch (it’s only available for the Apple Watch).
To get started with the app, you’ll install it on the Apple Watch and then scan a QR code that appears on your Apple Watch to log into your Facebook profile. From there, users will be able to select which contact(s) they want to message from the Apple Watch app. After choosing the person, you’ll be able to send an emoji, send a voice message, or share your location with a single tap.
Here are the primary features of the new Kit app based on the app’s landing page:
1. Onboarding: Log in by scanning a QR code on your watch, or by entering an access code at fb.com/devices.
2. 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.
3. Sending a message: Send a message with one tap via audio recording, emoji, location sharing, scribble, or dictation input.
4. Receiving Messages: Swipe to see your contact’s messages on the right.
5. Notifications: Receive and respond to notifications from your top Messenger contact.
Again, this app is solely built for the Apple Watch — there is not an iPhone equivalent to install on your phone. Still, it does rely on Messenger to send messages, and it’s all meant to work from the smartwatch. You can download Kit right now, which is free.
This is just the latest app from Facebook’s NPE group. We recently reported about an app called “Tuned”, which is designed to be a private app for couples to use to communicate.
What do you think of Kit? Will you be trying it out? Let us know in the comments below.