The Fossil Watches have been stable Wear OS units leaning on glossy design moderately than pioneering new options. But the brand new Fossil Gen 6 packs just a few new issues that few of its contemporaries do: the brand new Snapdragon 4100 Plus chipset and can ultimately (in 2023) get the brand new Wear OS 3, higher often called the model that mixes Google’s wearable working system and Samsung’s Tizen OS.
Granted, that’s many of the enhancements on the Fossil Gen 5, and the format is nearly equivalent. But should you felt the final smartwatch was a bit too glossy, the brand new Fossil Gen 6 has extra pronounced pusher and crown buttons and a ridge on the bezel. It’s nonetheless elegant, although it doesn’t look a lot completely different from the final mannequin.
It’s the inner updates that actually set the watch aside. In addition to the Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset, which pushes the smartwatch to what Fossil claims is 30% sooner speeds than the Fossil Gen 5, the brand new Fossil Gen 6 has 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. The 1.28-inch AMOLED show appears unchanged from its predecessor, nevertheless it’s nonetheless high-quality.
On the sensor facet, the Fossil Gen 6 provides SpO2 sensors to trace blood oxygen ranges, in addition to an upgraded coronary heart charge sensor for periodic monitoring. Without a lot in the way in which of first-party software program, although, you’ll most likely depend on the Google Fit apps to trace your health and well being.
Overall, the Fossil Gen 6 has a number of advances on its predecessor, however with some battery issues and a pricetag rivaling the highest non-Apple smartwatches, we’re not sure if the Gen 6 will outpace the most effective smartwatches led by the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.
Fossil Gen 6 value and launch date
The Fossil Gen 6 was launched on September 27, 2021, and is available in each 42mm and 44mm fashions, each with black instances.
The smaller 42mm model prices $299 / £279 (round AU$410), whereas the 44mm mannequin prices $319 / £299 (round AU$439).
Design and show
The Fossil Gen 6’s design doesn’t change a lot on its predecessors – it’s nonetheless a black-cased spherical smartwatch with black versatile plastic watchbands included within the field, and a crown on the precise facet flanked by pusher buttons on both facet. The new wearable has gotten just a few tweaks to set it aside from the Gen 5, so it’s not precisely the identical, however you’d need to get shut to inform the distinction.
The most blatant change is the small ridge on the sting of the bezel, which is actually extra visually attention-grabbing than the clear edges of the Fossil Gen 5 – and earlier than you ask, no, it doesn’t rotate just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, so it’s extra of aesthetic contact you might or might not recognize.
The crown seems barely flatter and wider, however there at the moment are two lugs rising to flank it, which hopefully means the crown will catch much less on pockets or sleeves. You can nonetheless click on into the crown to get to your app record, and there’s sufficient resistance that rotating it takes simply sufficient effort to forestall it taking place by chance. The pusher buttons on both facet of the crown have wider ends, which implies extra floor space and, presumably, a neater time pushing than predecessors. It all provides the watch a bit extra of an industrial look, which we like.
Otherwise, the watch design follows its predecessors, with huge lugs from the black case securing the watch bands and a set of sensors on the underside of the physique, that are flush with the pores and skin. The watch is undeniably glossy, and whereas it feels heavier than different smartwatches which can be both lighter (just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2) or steadiness their weight higher (just like the Apple Watch 7), it doesn’t awkwardly overwhelm the wrist.
The Fossil Gen 6’s show appears to be the identical 1.28-inch AMOLED display screen as that on its predecessor, it’s nonetheless darn good. The 416 x 416 decision with 328 pixels per inch density charges among the many screens on the greatest smartwatches, exhibiting a transparent image and graphics.
Our solely huge gripe is that the display screen doesn’t prolong to the sting of the bezel – there’s a several-millimeter hole between the place watch faces finish and the metallic begins, however that rim is such a deep black that it’s not a distracting flaw.
Fitness and well being
The Fossil Gen 6 isn’t a health smartwatch, however you possibly can actually take it on runs and exercises. The first-party well being software program is fairly restricted – the Cardiogram app periodically measures and charts coronary heart charge, and there’s a blood oxygen-tracking tile should you swipe left on the house display screen, in addition to a exercise tile that merely asks should you’re indoors or open air with out particular train monitoring.
Thus, most customers will most likely go for the installed-by-default Google Fit suite of apps to trace train and different well being metrics. That contains Fit Workout, which has a number of train sorts to trace, in addition to different apps for monitoring coronary heart charge, sleep, health targets, and meditative respiratory.
Taking the Gen 6 out for exercises is simply wonderful – its design and buttons aren’t too cumbersome neither is the smartwatch too weighty to get in the way in which whereas exercising. But a extra svelte fitness-minded smartwatch just like the older Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 or a more recent Fitbit Versa 3 is perhaps simpler on the wrist throughout tiresome exercises.
Performance and battery
The Fossil Gen 6 packs among the greatest specs we’ve seen on a non-Apple smartwatch. The Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset and 1GB of RAM, in addition to 8GB of storage for onboard apps and knowledge.
With such specs, the watch could be very speedy, switching from app to app and display screen to display screen swiftly and with out lag. Transitions are easy, and there isn’t any enter delay. It will ultimately run the brand new Wear OS 3 after an improve one thing in 2023, however till then, we've got the tried-and-true (and barely-changed in years) Wear OS 2 to make use of.
The battery is one other story, and whereas we haven’t had a whole lot of time with the smartwatch, it seems like we’d get barely a day trip of it earlier than needing to recharge it. Health monitoring options might drain the watch sooner, just like the periodic coronary heart beat monitoring, however we additionally surprise if the always-on show could also be sapping energy at a quick charge, too.
In any case, the Fossil Gen 6 recharges quick sufficient, with the in-box recharger juicing the watch from zero to full inside an hour (Fossil claims it goes from 0% to 80% in half-hour). We’ll have to check it correctly to get a greater concept of battery drain and charging speeds.
Early verdict
The Fossil Gen 6 is a strong smartwatch that runs Wear OS 3, so it’s already simpler to advocate than older units on aged software program. But whether or not that’s sufficient to command a pricetag round that of different prime non-Apple smartwatches just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is hard to inform in our brief time with the smartwatch.
As at all times, the Fossil glossy design is within the Gen 6’s favor, and its 1.28-inch AMOLED show is likely one of the greatest in the marketplace. But its low battery life might maintain us from recommending the watch over different longer-lasting wearables – if it could actually’t final greater than a day of use, the Gen 6’s quick recharging doesn’t imply as a lot if it must be juiced again up earlier than mattress every single day.
Source {link}