Alexa Fitness for Smartwatches
Design Problem:
How might we design an Alexa fitness experience that takes advantage of smartwatch capabilities while solving for smartwatch limitations?
objective
Design the fitness experience for Alexa on smart watches
my role
Design exploration
Design definition
Stakeholder alignment
Alexa on Smartwatches
In 2021, the Alexa WearOS app was launched on Fossil watches. This was the first design-supported integration of Alexa onto a smartwatch.
Customers can talk to Alexa by tapping a button onscreen or by setting up a hardware button shortcut. Alexa will answer questions on the watch with a combination of voice and onscreen visuals.
Alexa integration with Fossil Wellness
Wellness is the native default fitness application on Fossil watches, and it’s used by the majority of Fossil watch fitness users. In 2023, we launched an Alexa integration with the Fossil Wellness app.
This is the first time Alexa was integrated with a third-party fitness application on any device. This integration lays the groundwork for how we will partner with other fitness applications in the future.
Process
Launching this feature required coordinated efforts with a broad range of stakeholders across organizations and companies.
To bring this experience to customers, I collaborated with a Voice User Interface (VUI) designer. I was responsible for design concept exploration, screen flows, final design definition, and driving stakeholder alignment with all product and engineering teams.
Research-Informed
Before kicking off design work on this project, the research team conducted several user research studies to better understand the needs of our end users.
User needs:
Source: Dscout Wearables Diary Study, 2021
Watch-Forward Design
We created an experience for our customers by focusing on watch-forward design. This includes helping our customers navigate the small watch screen, supporting on-the-go scenarios, and integration with Wellness and other fitness apps.
Navigating a small screen
On-the-go support
Integration with other watch apps
Design exploration
I began this project with a broad exploration of a range of potential features. I worked in low fidelity to quickly generate ideas and get stakeholder feedback. Here are a few examples of the feature concepts I explored:
Alexa guided workout
Alexa navigational instructions
Alexa fitness insights
MVP Launch Features
Based on initial design exploration and research insights, I worked with product stakeholders to narrow down to a few core features for our initial launch, while defining the north star for where we are headed in the feature. Our initial launch features leverage Alexa’s AI intelligence and voice capabilities along with Fossil’s smartwatch user health data such as heart rate and GPS tracking.
initial launch features:
Voice workout control (start, stop, or pause workout with voice)
Voice updates during and after workout
Alexa visual integration with Wellness app
“Having such a small surface for a touch screen and my watch…it’s just easier to use a voice assistant than just try to tap through.”
-Dscout wearables diary study, 2021
Voice workout control: “Alexa, start my workout”
Customers can tap a watch button to open Alexa and ask to start, pause, resume, or stop a workout. Using voice cuts down on the number of swipes and taps needed to navigate the small screen of the watch.
without voice
with voice
“On my smartwatch, I wish you could hear my progress because it would motivate me more.”
-dscout third party fitness app fitness, 2022
Real-time voice updates
Users can opt in to receive proactive voice updates from Alexa during and after their workout. Alexa lets users know when they hit a milestone during their workout without looking at the watch screen.
The information provided during these updates by Alexa was directly informed by our team’s research findings.
In addition to giving users information on their progress, these updates help motivate them to keep going with their workout.
Which workout stats would you like to hear during your workout at the mile mark?
Percentage of participants interested in hearing this information. Source: Internal Fitness VUI study, 2022
Visually integrating Alexa
A visual overlay appears whenever Alexa is speaking while Wellness is in the foreground.
Branding lets customers know that updates are coming from Alexa and not Wellness. They can tap the dismiss button to interrupt Alexa if needed, an important privacy consideration for a device that may be worn in public.
Results
In the time between our initial launch in 2021 and the fitness features launch in 2023, we’ve improved our Google Play Store rating dramatically. In June of 2023, we maintained an average rating of 5 stars for that month.
The future of voice-guided fitness
The foundational experience that we’ve created paves the way for more Alexa fitness features, more third-party app integrations, with more smartwatch partnerships in the future.