Voice in a Can will let you run a stripped down version of Alexa directly on your Apple Watch

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Let’s face it, Siri isn’t always the best digital assistant for your needs. So if you’re an Apple Watch user, you’ve typically been out of luck. That’s about to change, however, with a third-party app called Voice in a Can.

Basically, this app will let you interact with Amazon’s Alexa through your Apple Watch. It’s a standalone app, so you will not need to tether to an iPhone to use Alexa, all you need is a WiFi signal or LTE (if your Apple Watch has this functionality).

Apple restricts the Apple Watch to easily use Siri and not another digital assistant, but thanks to a watch complication, Voice in a Can will launch easily from the app on the watch face. Due to it being a third-party integration, you’ll only get a cut-down version of Alexa, but it’s better than nothing.

This means that you will not be able to make calls, play music, or do Echo announcements from the app. It does fully support the smart home features of Alexa, so lights and other connected devices can be triggered even if you’re not at home.

Voice in a Can will sync to your main Amazon Alexa account, where you then have to tap on an icon in the app to get Alexa to respond. It’s a bit unwieldy, but it works in practice. Just remember to increase the timeout settings for apps on your Apple Watch, with standard settings, if the display goes blank the app will also disconnect from the Alexa service.

Until a way of official support from Amazon happens, this is the best alternative if you can’t live without Alexa, and with it being $1.99 it’s affordable enough to play with.

What do you think? Is Alexa superior to Siri and is this basic app worth the $1.99 price tag? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

In other Apple Watch news: LOL, the $10,000 Gold Apple Watch is now useless and The Apple Watch is getting a new walkie-talkie mode with watchOS 5.

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.