The smartwatch landscape is largely divided into three camps: the Apple Watch, the ever-evolving line of Google Wear OS smartwatches, and … everything else. It’s probably unfair to lump all other wearables into the “everything else” category because, let’s be honest, many of the smartwatches and fitness bands in this miscellaneous category are actually great.
No, what I’m talking about when I say “everything else” is that these watches use a custom operating system — separate from Apple’s Watch OS and Google’s Wear OS. While there are many ramifications for a custom OS smartwatch (most of which are beyond the scope of this article), one of the big choices you make when choosing a non-Apple, non-Google smartwatch is which smart assistant you’ll use.
While the ease with which Siri can navigate your Apple Watch isn’t surprising, and the somewhat lackluster performance of Google Assistant on Wear OS makes the watch category unfortunate, there’s an entire landscape of watches that have turned to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. And this is pretty unique, as Alexa has a specific niche in the world of voice assistants — mostly around do-it-yourself use cases and cross-device compatibility.
But what’s it like to actually choose a smartwatch solely for Alexa functionality? Well, I got my hands on a few different classes of watches, including the Fitbit Versa 2 and Xiaomi’s new flagship S1 smartwatch (currently only officially available in some markets), and spent most of the week asking Alexa to control my life. Here’s how it went.
Xiaomi
Which smartwatches have Alexa
The first key consideration for this story was to determine which smartwatch brands actually rely on Alexa. First, there’s Fitbit’s range of trackers and watches. I generally really like what Fitbit does with the custom OS, especially when it comes to battery life, but I’ve honestly never spent much time calling Alexa to start a workout or read my calendar. But Fitbit had to include Alexa in order to maintain the competitive advantage of voice-activated commands — although that could change now that Google owns Fitbit.
There are also “third-party” watches — the best-known manufacturer of which is probably Amazfit. The goal of these valuable watches and bands is to give you wrist-based notifications, basic exercise functions, and about 70% of the smartwatch experience at a great price. This is probably the best place to use Alexa.
The last category is the “high end” custom OS watches. For this story, I’m testing the Xiaomi S1 watch for its custom OS, but you can find a few options in more expensive watches that use a custom OS — most notably the Samsung Galaxy Watch line (before the fourth war switched to Wear OS, that is).
Alexa for every day
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Before I get into my actual experience using Alexa in everyday life, it’s important to emphasize what “built-in” Alexa functionality actually means. While an Alexa-specific device like the Amazon Echo or Fire TV is ready to go out of the box, an “embedded” device is a piece of third-party technology designed to work hand-in-hand with Alexa after some setup — usually via the Alexa app on your phone . Devices like the FitBit Versa 2 and Xiaomi S1 require you to update the firmware, connect the device to the Alexa app on your phone, and be in a territory where this feature is supported. So once it’s set up, you’ll have hands-free access, but something needs to be done to get it up and running.
In practice, Alexa seemed like an interesting voice assistant to have at your disposal, most likely due to the fact that I’m used to Alexa living more in my smart home than in my pocket. My typical on-the-go voice assistant is Siri, and even then I only use it on my Apple Watch to quickly start a workout or awkwardly reply to a text when I can’t get my phone out of my pocket. Alexa, with her intricate, DIY-frendly colorful skills means there’s a little more to experiment with as I walk around.
First, I found that Alexa actually performed slightly better than Siri when I asked her to search the Internet for me. Siri will often return the wrong information or tell me to go to my phone more often. Alexa, on the other hand, seemed more comfortable answering my question, at least most of the time. Similarly, because the Alexa app has other app functions more easily built in, it was easier to trigger scheduling in my Google ecosystem (like meetings and to-do lists). Sure, Siri can handle this with Apple’s ecosystem, but not quite seamlessly with third-party options. This is all anecdotal, and your mileage may vary, but overall, I think Amazon made a bolder voice assistant in large part because it doesn’t play it so safe — especially when you consider Alexa’s tens of thousands of skills, which still surpass what Google Assistant brings on the table.
Alexa with every device
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Perhaps the most important consideration in determining the Alexa difference is how many third-party devices Amazon has chosen to connect with. Since both Google and Apple tend to stick tightly to their ecosystems, when you’re looking for functionality, they’ll default to first-party devices. Amazon, on the other hand, has painstakingly taken steps to build a vast rolodex of speakers and smart home devices. While the numbers vary quite a bit, Amazon usually has a head start of several thousand devices with its compatibility list. Google Assistant and Apple lag far behind in this regard.
To be fair, my smart home is a bit of a mixed bag. My thermostat is a Google Nest Learning Thermostat, while my TV streaming device of choice is an Apple TV. But most of the rest of my smart home system is powered by the low-cost company Wyze. Between smart locks, Wi-Fi cameras, a monitored security system, and even a robotic vacuum cleaner, the Wyze app is often my go-to smart home control interface. And while Google integration is reportedly supported, the best functionality I’ve found is with Alexa. So it was handy to put Alexa on your wrist to unlock the door or turn off the camera. And that should probably be true of various other devices as well, including the obvious Amazon-friendly ring devices and the popular Ecobee line of smart thermostats.
And this is where I really think the Alexa-on-your-wrist thing shines. Apple’s HomeKit functionality isn’t really there yet and takes a lot of tinkering to get it up and running, and Google’s approach works best with first-party devices. Amazon is an ecosystem without an ecosystem, so you’ll have better luck on more third-party devices.
The bottom line
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As unsatisfying as it may seem, the answer to the question “is Alexa the best voice assistant to wear on your wrist” really depends on your priorities. As for me, I think I’ll still consider Siri my favorite, purely because so much of my mobile lifestyle is Apple-based. But if I preferred Android phones and a laptop, I could change my tune to Alexa.
In the battle between Google Assistant and Alexa, Google may have won the first battle, but for compatibility on a ton of devices, Alexa is a really smart little assistant. If you’re in the market for a smartwatch and voice activation is a feature you’re looking for, I recommend checking out our list of must-have device integrations. If it’s anything outside of the main Google Nest/Google Home infrastructure, Alexa could unlock a better, more futuristic life.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn