Fossil’s Gen 6 smartwatch line is sort of 18 months outdated, however you would not know that from the corporate’s CES 2023 push. Fossil has discovered methods to make the Gen 6 line really feel extra related than ever, particularly by updating it to Wear OS 3 and launching new editions just like the Wellness model and a hybrid E Ink mannequin.Keeping these watches contemporary is essential at a time when it is changing into more and more troublesome to discover a platform-agnostic watch that does not encourage you to decide to a complete ecosystem. Apple, Samsung and Google all place their smartwatches as complementary merchandise to accompany their telephones, earbuds and different merchandise. Fossil is without doubt one of the largest manufacturers that also makes watches that work with Android or iOS gadgets and helps Google’s Wear OS 3 software program.”This is a very relevant platform for some time to come,” stated Brook Eaton, Fossil’s vice chairman of product. “We did a Wear [OS] 3 update when we launched the [Gen 6] Wellness Edition, we did another update that was pretty meaningful in December.” These efforts are additionally essential as a result of Fossil’s Gen 6 line runs the danger of in any other case feeling outdated with the arrival of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon W5 chips. The Gen 6 line, comparatively, runs on the older Snapdragon 4100 Plus chip from 2021.Eaton additionally stated quarterly updates are deliberate for the Gen 6 line together with safety updates, however he couldn’t focus on whether or not a Gen 7 mannequin that includes a more moderen chipset is within the works. However, he did say that the Wear OS 3 expertise discovered on the Gen 6 will carry over to future watches. That means future Fossil watches will proceed to be suitable with the iPhone and Android.Google Assistant assist can be nonetheless within the pipeline for Fossil’s watch. The Gen 6 at the moment makes use of Alexa, however Eaton stated Fossil is working with Google to get the Assistant working. Fossil’s app makes up for different Wear OS 3 options, corresponding to health monitoring, that are not included on the Gen 6. (For now, the one Wear OS watch that features Google’s Fitbit for health monitoring is the Pixel Watch.)The Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition makes use of an E Ink show.
Fossil
Fossil is not the one smartwatch maker retaining its gadgets contemporary with new software program. Rival Mobvoi is in the same place. It plans to replace the $200 TicWatch E3, which additionally runs on the Snapdragon 4100 Plus, to Wear OS 3. The Montblanc Summit already runs on Wear OS 3 and gives iOS and Android compatibility. But it begins at $1,290, making it far more costly than the $299 base worth for Fossil’s watches. Meanwhile different Wear OS rivals just like the Pixel Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch collection have remained Android-only watches, regardless that earlier Galaxy Watches have supported the iPhone.The Falster Gen 6 Smartwatch, which is a rebrand of the Gen 6 for the Skagen model.
Fossil
Fossil has additionally rebranded the Gen 6 watch and its accompanying app to accommodate sister manufacturers like Diesel and Skagen, which is one other approach the corporate is ready to maintain making the Gen 6 look new and totally different regardless of being in any other case equivalent on the within. Apps utilized by the Diesel and Skagen variations of the Gen 6 have been custom-made to enchantment to the viewers that usually purchases watches from these manufacturers, says Eaton. These embody aesthetics like the colour scheme and messages within the “For You” part that direct customers to a model’s social media and store. The apps are in any other case functionally equivalent.Fossil’s watch collaboration with Razer, which was revealed finally yr’s CES, is an exception to this strategy. Unlike the Skagen and Diesel variations of the Gen 6, the Razer model syncs with the common Fossil app however consists of Razer-specific watchfaces.Smartwatch makers and not using a branded telephone are dwindlingEven although Apple and Samsung at the moment dominate the smartwatch market, efforts from firms like Fossil are price monitoring exactly as a result of they don’t seem to be attempting to lock clients into an ecosystem of telephones, watches and earbuds. That’s changing into more and more uncommon with different smartwatches. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 (left) and the Pixel Watch.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
Fitbit’s cross-platform compatibility all the time saved me coming again to its trackers and watches. Fitbit merchandise nonetheless work with the iPhone and Android. But Google’s efforts to bridge the Fitbit and Pixel Watch expertise make me fear that you’re going to want one in every of their Android-only watches to get the very best Fitbit expertise sooner or later. Samsung additionally used to assist each iOS and Android with their Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Fit line. But as Samsung has grown extra targeted on cultivating its personal Galaxy ecosystem of gadgets, it is eliminated iPhone compatibility from its watches. It even locked the watch’s ECG characteristic to Galaxy gadgets solely.Aside from Fossil, Mobvoi and Montblanc, Amazfit can be persevering with to assist each the iPhone and Android utilizing its personal proprietary Zepp working system. This means much less app assist, however its watches are in a position to declare a 14-day battery life that is considerably longer than the one- to two-day battery life discovered on the Apple Watch, Galaxy watches and Pixel Watch. The Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip is the corporate’s next-generation silicon for wearables that extends battery life and helps cameras.
Qualcomm
What’s subsequent for Wear OS watchesEven although Fossil has discovered a solution to to maintain the Gen 6 going, smartwatches working the subsequent Snapdragon chip optimized for wearables are on the best way. The Snapdragon W5 is claimed to increase battery life by a day past present watches and provide extra performance in low-power mode in addition to assist for camera-enabled options. But there is no date introduced for when watches supporting these chips will hit the market. That in itself is likely to be an enormous purpose Fossil is hoping to get extra runway out of the Snapdragon 4100 Plus chip and its Gen 6 lineup.
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