Fossil’s Gen 6 smartwatch line is nearly 18 months old, but you wouldn’t know that from the company’s CES 2023 push. Fossil has found ways to make the Gen 6 line feel more relevant than ever, namely by updating it to Wear OS 3 and launching new editions like the Wellness version and a hybrid E Ink model.
Keeping those watches fresh is important at a time when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a platform-agnostic watch that doesn’t encourage you to commit to an entire ecosystem. Apple, Samsung and Google all position their smartwatches as complementary products to accompany their phones, earbuds and other products. Fossil is one of the biggest brands that still makes watches that work with Android or iOS devices and supports Google’s Wear OS 3 software.
“This is a very relevant platform for some time to come,” said Brook Eaton, Fossil’s vice president 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These efforts are also critical because Fossil’s Gen 6 line runs the risk of otherwise feeling outdated with the arrival of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon W5 chips.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 also said quarterly updates are planned for the Gen 6 line along with security updates, but he could not discuss whether a Gen 7 model featuring a newer chipset is in the works. However, he did say that the Wear OS 3 experience found on the Gen 6 will carry over to future watches. That means future Fossil watches will continue to be compatible with the iPhone and Android.
Google Assistant support is also still in the pipeline for Fossil’s watch. The Gen 6 currently uses Alexa, but Eaton said Fossil is working with Google to get the Assistant working. Fossil’s app makes up for other Wear OS 3 features, such as fitness tracking, that aren’t included on the Gen 6. (For now, the only Wear OS watch that includes Google’s Fitbit for fitness tracking is the Pixel Watch.)
The Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition uses an E Ink display.
Fossil
Fossil isn’t the only smartwatch maker keeping its devices fresh with new software. Rival Mobvoi is in a similar position. It plans to update the $200 TicWatch E3, which also runs on the Snapdragon 4100 Plus, to Wear OS 3. The Montblanc Summit already runs on Wear OS 3 and offers iOS and Android compatibility. But it starts at $1,290, making it way more expensive than the $299 base price for Fossil’s watches. Meanwhile other Wear OS rivals like the Pixel Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series have remained Android-only watches, even though earlier Galaxy Watches have supported the iPhone.
The Falster Gen 6 Smartwatch, which is a rebrand of the Gen 6 for the Skagen brand.
Fossil
Fossil has also rebranded the Gen 6 watch and its accompanying app to accommodate sister brands like Diesel and Skagen, which is another way the company is able to keep making the Gen 6 look new and different despite being otherwise identical on the inside. Apps used by the Diesel and Skagen versions of the Gen 6 have been customized …….