Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches are coming, but they won't feature Wear OS 3 at launch

[jsilva]

In brief: Fossil is about to launch a new lineup of smartwatches running WearOS. Following the Gen 5 series, the Gen 6 will be an upgrade over its predecessor in more ways than one. One thing that won't change, however, is the OS, which will still be Wear OS 2. This should eventually change in 2022, when Fossil makes the upgrade to Wear OS 3 available.

On the inside, the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches are equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ processor, featuring faster charging and improved power efficiency compared to the original Snapdragon 4100. This processor also features a QCC1110 chip for the always-on display functionality. Moreover, it will pack 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.

At launch, the Gen 6 series will ship with Wear OS 2, but Fossil will make the upgrade to Wear OS 3 available in 2022. The watchmaker wasn't specific about when it will allow users to upgrade their devices, but based on what Google said about upgrading existing devices, it should be by H2 2022. By then, it may already be too late, as Samsung will have already launched the Galaxy Watch4, the first wearable to feature Wear OS 3.

Although it may stay behind Galaxy Watch4 in the OS department, the Fossil wearable brings other nice things, like support for Google Assistant and Google Pay. Additional features include a SpO2 sensor, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring and a waterproof rating of 3 ATM (30 meters).

Fossil claims the battery can be charged by 80 percent in 30 minutes and that a single charge can last for 24 hours.

The new Fossil Gen 6 series will be available in different styles with 42mm or 44mm casings and a slew of bands to choose from, including leather, silicone, stainless steel and crosgrain. Despite the difference in casing size, all models come with a 1.28-inch display.

The Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches are now available to pre-order for $299, except the stainless steel option, which costs $319. Each silicone strap costs $29, leather ones go for $39, and the ones made of steel for $49.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91018-fossil-gen-6-smartwatches-coming-but-they-wont.html

 

[VitalyT]

Should you say you got one, people will ask where you dug it up.

 

[Lionvibez]

I have a gen 3 model which I like I'm glad they updated the internals but I still want more battery life. On my current model I can get a day and a half out of it but that is not continuous use, and with Wifi turned off.

 

[punctualturn]

My understanding is that WearOS 3.0 needs more ram than the previous one, so I wonder if this amount would be enough to run it properly.

 

[p51d007]

I just wish Samsung or the U.S. Food & Drug Administration would come to terms and authorize the BP feature on their watches. HR, O2, ECG work fine, but the Blood pressure is "not available".

By the time Fossil gen 6 gets the Wear update, LOL, the Gen 7 watches will probably be released