Smartwatches are getting smarter. Is AI the feature we’ve been waiting for?
My smartwatch knows a lot about me. It counts my steps, logs my sleep, checks my heart rate, and buzzes every time someone texts. It’s great at watching. It’s not so great at doing.
So what if an AI smartwatch could take things off my to-do list instead of just reminding me they’re there? I think AI agents on wearables could be the next big leap in that direction, and Meta Muse is the latest test.
Meta Muse brings AI assistance to your wrist
On November 9, Meta announced that Muse is now on Apple Watch and Wear OS watches. You can call, text, or dictate to the assistant, and the Meta Muse Apple Watch app adds a complication for quick access.
How is Meta Muse AI different from a chatbot? Connect your accounts, and it can manage email, meetings, and bills, book reservations, and order groceries. Meta says it “actually does the work.”
And it’s spreading fast. Muse launched in September, added an iPad app in October, and passed 10 million U.S. downloads in its first 40 days.
From fitness tracker to personal assistant
If we’re being honest, smartwatches don’t do much. Mostly, they sit on our wrists and collect information. For instance, Apple Watch Series 12 built its big upgrade around a new Health Sensing System. Useful, but the work still lands on me.
An AI smartwatch assistant could change that. Picture asking your watch to push your 3 p.m. meeting, draft a reply to the email you’ve been ignoring, add oat milk to the grocery list, or find a time for a dentist appointment.
It’s easy to see the appeal of something like that, a watch that can finish small tasks without stopping what I’m doing. That’s also why voice makes AI-powered smartwatches interesting. A watch screen is too small for typing, but talking to my wrist while walking the dog beats digging out my phone.
But can an AI smartwatch really deliver?
Am I ready to hand my inbox to my watch? Not yet.
A smartwatch has a tiny screen, a small battery, and limited processing power. So the Muse watch app is the front end, not the brain. Android Headlines reports that your paired phone does the heavy lifting, and Muse itself runs on a dedicated virtual machine. The watch is actually an access point.
Then there’s trust, something Meta has struggled with lately. Meta says Muse checks with you before sending an email or making a purchase, and that it can’t see your passwords or payment methods. But Meta hasn’t said whether you can approve payments from the watch.
The next evolution of wearable technology?
I hope smartwatches with AI become less about monitoring our lives and more about helping us manage them. Muse is an early sign, and Meta is also betting on its Muse Charm. For now, though, the watch is mostly a remote control.
So, would you rather have a smartwatch that tracks everything you do or one that helps you get things done?
