Slack has announced it's no longer going to offer an app for the Apple Watch, but users will be able to make use of notifications and respond using apple's rich notifications feature.
Previously, the standalone Slack app offered limited functionality for users of the smart watch, which has been unfortunately the case for many "made for Apple Watch" apps rolled out over the last few years. Although users can view notifications and respond to messages from the watch, it wasn't particularly intuitive on the small screen.
Now those features are available via Apple's rich notifications function, although the collaboration app users won't be able to view unread mentions.
"Apple Watch users, there's now one iOS app for all of your needs,' the company explained in its latest iOS software update. "We've removed the standalone Watch App, but rest assured, receiving and replying to messages from your wrist works the same as before. It's like two for the price of one, but with apps."
Slack isn't the first app-maker to end support for Apple Watch-designed apps. Twitter announced last year it would no longer issue updates to the Twitter Apple Watch app, instead opting to just send notifications to the wrist-mounted device using the same tech as Slack.
eBay also discontinued its app, alongside other first adopters such as Amazon and Google Maps. Companies were quick to jump on the Apple Watch as an extra way to get their services to users, but it seems without an intuitive experience that makes the user's life easier, there really isn't much point to the app's existence.
Slack was first introduced on the Apple Watch in April 2015. It arrived with much fanfare, with the company commenting at the time: "No longer will you be left tapping your wrist in vain: now doing so will enable you to quickly and easily create, receive and reply to new direct messages. You can also keep track of unread mentions, and get a simple heads-up of how many team members are online, straight from your Apple Watch."
Image courtesy of Slack
