Apple is positioning its Apple Watch as a rival to the Amazon Echo.
The tech giant is now allowing the integration of its personal assistant Siri into apps on its flagship wearable.
The latest version of the Watch’s operating system WatchOS opens up apps relating to fitness, payments, Uber taxis and messages, in a similar way to the way the iPhone works.
The functionality has not been built yet, but the door has been opened for third-party developers.
The Echo and smaller sibling the Echo Dot have been a success, in part because Amazon is allowing third-parties to build the virtual assistant Alexa into their technology.
That is seen as a move towards winning majority market share in the smart home space, which is viewed as the next big battleground in technology.
Google Assistant is another contender being embraced by third parties. It features in Google’s equivalent to the Echo smart speaker, Google Home.
However there are more Apple Watches in the world than Amazon Echos, so were the Watch to become a smart assistant able to deal with music, knowledge, taxi and purchase requests, Apple could suddenly emerge as a leading contender.