Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch owners will be able to call up Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant in the future, as the company has confirmed support will arrive on its latest models before the middle of the year. The news comes from CES 2022, where the company revealed two new smartwatches that use the Gen 6 platform, the Razer X Fossil Gen 6 limited edition, and the Skagen Falster Gen 6.
Fossil told Digital Trends in an email:
“Alexa will be launching in the first half of this year on our Gen 6 devices, with the opportunity to roll out on future devices. We’ll have more information closer to launch.”
Not much to go on so far, but it seems Alexa will arrive as an app on the Gen 6 watches. Anyone with a Gen 6 will find Amazon Alexa listed in the app section right now, but when selected, it simply says, “coming soon.” Reports of the Alexa app’s existence have been around since the Gen 6 launched, but Fossil hasn’t officially talked about its plans until now.
Currently, you can use Google Assistant on all Google Wear OS smartwatches, including the Fossil Gen 6 and earlier versions, but with Alexa support too, Fossil will add considerable convenience for those who use Amazon’s connected products over Google’s. However, it’s not the first time Alexa has been found on a smartwatch.
Fitbit integrated Alexa in the Versa 3, Versa 2, and Sense smartwatches, where you can ask for weather information, set alarms and reminders, control smart home products, and control various aspects of the watch itself. Amazfit also uses Alexa as the virtual assistant on its GTR 3 Pro smartwatch, among others. Amazon itself doesn’t make a smartwatch, but Alexa can be called into action on a wide variety of other connected products.
Alexa isn’t the only thing for Gen 6 owners to look forward to, as all models will receive an update to Wear OS 3 in 2022, the latest software currently only available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic. However, like the Alexa update, you’ll need patience as there isn’t an exact release date for Wear OS 3 either. There’s the potential for both to arrive at the same time, though.
