CoWatch is like a mini Amazon Echo on your wrist

CoWatch

Passed on Android Wear? Not into the Apple Watch? Maybe an Amazon Alexa powered smartwatch is more your style? If so, check out the CoWatch, which has now gone on sale after being revealed earlier this year.

It essentially puts many of the functions of an Amazon Echo into a wristwatch. Made by startup company iMCO, you can use the wearable to ask Amazon's Alexa voice assistant for information including local weather, traffic news and sports scores.

Alexa even has functionality beyond those standard smartwatch features, such as the ability to fill your Amazon basket via voice commands, control home automation products and even summon Uber rides. As the first Alexa-powered watch on the market, it's certainly a unique selling point against its Android and Apple rivals.

Rock around the Alexa clock

The watch itself looks pretty swish, too. Made with combinations of stainless steel and Zirconia Ceramics, it features a 400x 400 Super AMOLED display powered by a 1.2GHz dual core processor. 1GB of RAM is also squeezed in, with 8GB of internal storage.

Water resistant with an accelerometer and heart rate sensor for fitness fanatics, iMCO is actually running the Alexa software on its own fork of Android Lollipop, rather than Google's Android Wear OS.

Called the Cronologics OS, it's been specifically designed to handle Alexa-heavy interactions - but don't expect to have access to all the Android or Android Wear apps you'd expect with Google's operating systems. It'll be interesting to see how much long term support iMCO offer the OS.

The success of the watch will probably determine that last point. Remember this device is also coming from an unproven startup as well, so we'll have to get one on our wrists to know how good it really is.

But if you fancy taking a punt on an intriguing new wristable, it's on sale over at Amazon US right now in silver for $279 (about £210 or AU$365 if directly converted) and black for $299 (£230/AU$390). It'll pair up with any Android phone running version 5.0 and above, or Apple devices on iOS 9 and up.

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Gerald Lynch

Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site's home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don't expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press.