The Fossil Gen 6 has just been announced as one of the newest Android Wear OS smartwatches — touting an impressive array of hardware and software that should prove quite promising. After years and years of being treated like an afterthought, 2021 looks to be the year Wear OS gets the attention it so desperately needs. Google and Samsung co-developed a substantial overhaul of the platform with Wear OS 3. It’s faster, more efficient, and the strongest Wear OS has ever been. The Galaxy Watch 4 recently shipped as the first Wear OS 3 smartwatch, Fitbit’s confirmed its next smartwatch will use Wear OS, and rumors of a fabled Pixel Watch from Google are stronger than ever before.
Before all of this change, select few companies kept the Wear OS train going when so many had given up on it. One such company is Fossil. The Fossil Q Founder from 2015 marked Fossil’s entry into the Wear OS space. Since then, it’s remained consistent in churning out new models every single year. Some of them have been great, others have fallen flat, and Fossil’s been one of the few brands that’s refused to let the Wear OS dream die.
Fossil has now unveiled the Gen 6 as its next big smartwatch offering. At first glance, it looks pretty similar to previous Fossil watches. It has a stainless steel case, is available in 42 and 44mm sizes, and is sold with an assortment of case colors and watchbands. Users are also treated to a 1.28-inch AMOLED display on both case sizes and an external speaker for phone calls/Google Assistant replies.
The Fossil Gen 6 Is The First Watch With The Wear 4100+
While none of that is particularly eye-catching, that’s because the star of the show lies under the hood. Powering the Fossil Gen 6 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+. Not only is it the highest-end smartwatch chip in Qualcomm’s lineup, but the Fossil Gen 6 is the first gadget ever to come equipped with it. Compared to the Wear 3100 found in most other Wear OS watches today, the Wear 4100+ is a substantial upgrade across the board. It touts 85-percent faster CPU performance, up to 85-percent faster RAM, and a GPU that’s 2.5x more powerful. It also comes with a host of battery-saving improvements, such as 22-percent less power consumption for the GPS and 42-percent less power when managing notifications. In addition to a battery that lasts up to 24+ hours, the Fossil Gen 6 also includes a new fast charger that gets from 0 – 80 percent in about 30 minutes.
Another area of focus for the Gen 6 is health-tracking. On the underside of the Fossil Gen 6 is a new heart rate sensor that allows “continuous tracking and improved signal accuracy.” Joining that is a new SpO2 sensor for blood oxygen tracking, built-in GPS, an altimeter, and a 3ATM water resistance rating. It’s not quite as robust as the health features found on the Galaxy Watch 4 or Apple Watch Series 6, but it’s a marked improvement over Fossil’s previous offerings.
There’s one more key component of the Gen 6, and that’s its software. While it ships with the current Wear OS 2 platform, Fossil confirms an update to Wear OS 3 will be available at some point in 2022. Not having a firm date isn’t ideal, but compared to so many other Wear OS watches that aren’t being updated to Wear OS 3, just having that confirmation is a huge advantage. Also, unlike the Galaxy Watch 4 which is only compatible with Android, the Fossil Gen 6 works with Android and iOS. For anyone interested, the Fossil Gen 6 is available for pre-order as of August 30 with prices starting at $299 and $319 for the 42 and 44mm sizes, respectively.
