Alexa comes to Fossil smartwatches, however it won’t respond verbally like Google Assistant

Watchmaker Fossil has announced that its Gen 6 smartwatch range will have Amazon Alexa built in. 

Once connected, the users will have options to access the Alexa Tile and the Alexa App. Alexa tile is Amazon’s Bluetooth device that can be added to everyday items, such as housekeys, and can be found by asking the application where your keys are.  

The Tiles and the Alexa app can be accessed via a tap button, with a few personalisation options from Fossil, and sister brands Michael Kors and Skagen. Alexa can be utilized for use cases such as smart home devices, music control, grocery shopping and Amazon purchases.   

Fossil also said that this is the first time that Alexa will be available on wear OS devices.  

The device will be available in select markets, with a global rollout through 2022. The list of countries can be found here.  

Meanwhile, Google Assistant will be the default assistant for the smartwatch. The news was first reported by 9to5Google in January this year. An update to Alexa on Fossil and Skagen will help users to activate the feature. The app will require permissions such as microphone, followed by which the Alexa app needs to be downloaded and linked to the smartwatch and Amazon account.   

However, one drawback is that Alexa will not be able to read out responses verbally, and will only respond through text.