AI Could Be the Key to Making the Smartwatches We Already Own Better

Since how ChatGPT made a splash in late 2022, the tech industry is racing to integrate advanced AI algorithms into all sorts of devices. New AI software tools were the focus of Samsung Galaxy S24 announcement in January and Google’s Pixel 8 launched last October. Tech giants included Asus, Intel and AMD they are even beginning to introduce upcoming computers as “computers with artificial intelligence.”

But there’s one particular place where large tongue patterns would feel particularly at home: on the wrist. The purpose of a smart watch, in addition to logging exercise and measuring health metrics, is to prevent us from reaching for our phones so often. But these small screens aren’t ideal for long interactions like touching, typing and swiping for extended periods of time, leaving plenty of room for AI to help.

Specialized AI gadgets got off to a rough start. The highly anticipated Humane AI Pin received negative reviews due to its inconsistent performance, tendency to overheat and high price. Shortly after, the startup Rabbit Inc. let go R1, the first handheld voice assistant with artificial intelligence, which was also panned by critics for its performance and limited functionality. Both episodes raised skepticism about the future of new AI-powered consumer electronics and raised questions about whether new types of hardware are needed.

That answer may still be up for debate, but in the meantime, there’s a lot of potential for AI to elevate the wearables we already own. And with Google I/O developer conference is fast approaching followed by Apple’s WWDC event in June, there’s a chance we’ll hear more about how AI can improve smartwatches soon enough.

Read more: Smart rings pick up where fitness trackers left off

Smartwatches have come a long way in the last decade, evolving from shrinking phone screens to devices that truly feel like their own entity. But typing, scrolling, and watching videos on a smartwatch-sized screen isn’t ideal, and smartwatch makers have gradually realized that these devices need their own special gestures, interactions, and interfaces.

Generative AI can take this to the next stage. What if your smartwatch could intelligently summarize notifications for you so you didn’t have to reach for your phone as often? iPhone and iPad can now provide summaries of notices at certain points during the day. And the Apple Watch can show summary of notification when the device is locked, it shows a short title and app icon. But I’d like to see companies like Apple go a step further by using AI to synthesize the content of incoming notifications to offer short summaries specifically designed for smartwatches.

Or what if you could read a short, quick summary of a long text message or email on your watch? Google already offers message summaries in Android Auto and it can summarize websites in the Chrome browser on phones. Next, I’d like to see this idea cleverly applied to smartwatches in ways that make sense.

Generative AI can also help you develop out-of-the-box message replies that are more specific and authentic-sounding, making it much easier to reply to text messages from your watch. Such features could be in Apple’s future, given a report from Apple Insider it says the company is working on multiple AI-generated response and summary features. Bloomberg also reported that Apple is working on new AI-centric features for its next iPhone update, though it’s unclear how or if any of those tools will extend to the Apple Watch.

Style may also be more important for smartwatches than for phones, as these devices sit prominently on the wrist. Google and Samsung offer generative AI wallpapers that can create new phone backgrounds from scratch based on prompts. That sounds like a great idea for dials.

I’d love for my watch to generate new watch faces from scratch based on prompts and my preferences. Imagine being able to tell your watch (or the accompanying phone app you use to control your watch) that you want a colorful, modern watch face that puts your activity progress front and center, but also tells you the time . This would mean less time dealing with complications and gadgets.

Then there are virtual assistants like Siri and Google Assistant. Voice assistants are especially useful for smartwatches, as those small screens aren’t ideal for long periods of typing and tapping. I always use Siri to set alarms and timers on my Apple Watch instead of tapping these apps. Infusing these digital assistants with more intelligence could make them more useful on the wrist, further reducing the number of times I have to reach for my phone to complete a task.

Apple and Google are already making some AI upgrades to their smartwatch platforms, especially when it comes to health tracking. Last year, for example, Apple updated Siri with the ability to answer health related questions. Apple’s latest smartwatch chip enables the Apple Watch to handle this type of processing on the device rather than in the cloud, which is better for preserving privacy.

Google has launched an experimental program called Fitbit Labs that uses generative AI to answer questions by processing Fitbit data. Apple is also said to be developing an AI-powered health coach Bloomberg. Samsung’s Won-Joon Choi also before said CNET that the company plans to bring AI features to other types of devices, which could include smartwatches.

But putting advanced AI features into something as small as a smartwatch is no easy feat. Unless such interactions are handled in the cloud, they will require a large amount of on-device processing—the kind that would be difficult to squeeze into a smaller device.

Only time will tell how (and if) companies like Apple, Google and Samsung will incorporate generative AI into their smartwatches. But for devices with screens this small, the potential for upgraded AI-generated summaries and message responses seems huge.

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