How to use Alexa on the Apple Watch

Alexa on the Apple Watch, you say? Although the smartwatch still lacks an official Alexa app, it is still possible with the help of a clever third-party integration.

Downloading it from the App Store allows you to ditch Siri and instead pop your queries over to Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa.

Using this workaround’s also fairly straightforward, and you only need a couple of steps to gain compatibility.

Read on for details on what you can control – and whether the real Alexa will soon be standing up.

Other Apple Watch guides:

How to install Alexa on the Apple Watch

There’s no official way to connect Alexa to the Apple Watch, as we say, but downloading the third-party app ‘Voice in a Can’ gives you a neat workaround.

In 2024, the app was surprisingly canned, with founder Damian Mehers explaining in a blog post that Amazon removed all documentation on the Alexa Voice Service that the app used.

However, Mehers later said on Reddit: “Amazon has removed all documentation on the Alexa Voice Service… so I didn’t feel comfortable selling it anymore. I pulled it from the App Store, but after getting quite a few emails, I put it back for free.”

So, ‘Voice in a Can’ lives on for now—but at least for free.

Since it’s a standalone app, it works whether your smartwatch is connected to Wi-Fi or LTE.

After installing the app on your wrist, sync your Amazon Alexa account and tap the icon in the app to access the smart assistant.

You can even harness the device’s Siri Raise feature to prompt Alexa instead and tap into a nifty little Siri Shortcut workaround (which you can learn how to do through Voice in a Can’s FAQ section).

How to use Alexa on the Apple Watch

You can ask Alexa your questions regarding the weather, directions, and more using the app, but that’s not all.

The good news is that there’s not a massive drop-off from what you can control through a smartwatch that officially works with Alexa and your Apple Watch.

However, there are a few things to be aware of. You won’t be able to make Alexa Announcements, use Drop In, make calls, or listen to music. It can also be a little slow to react at times.

Yet, the workaround does enable you to control your Alexa-enabled smart home tech, meaning you can turn your lights on/off, adjust your smart thermostat, or even lock your front door. You can also easily do it from the Apple Watch’s face, as shown above.

Since this can save you from pulling out your phone, it’s a no-brainer download for both Apple Watch and smart home enthusiasts looking to simplify their interactions with Alexa.

Will an official Alexa Apple Watch app ever be released?

With the emergence of Matter in recent years, there is reason to be optimistic in this regard. However, the short answer is that we don’t know. 

We don’t necessarily think an official Alexa app for Apple Watch will arrive anytime soon—or ever, really—but Matter does promise to make home control much easier.

Eventually, controlling your Alexa smart home via Siri will be a possibility, meaning workarounds like this will be less necessary.

The above method is the best way to get Alexa on the Apple Watch, at least for now.