Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Version overview: historical past repeats itself

The unique Fossil Gen 6 sort of received shafted. Whereas Fossil was nonetheless creating the watch, Google and Samsung sprung the information that Put on OS 3 was on the horizon. Fossil apparently came upon at the same time as the rest of us. Then, Qualcomm introduced a newer, faster wearable chip. By the point the Gen 6 debuted, it was working a soon-to-be last-gen chip — and Samsung’s first Put on OS 3 watch, the Galaxy Watch 4, was already out. It wasn’t Fossil’s fault, however the Gen 6 was outdated earlier than it ever hit cabinets. Sadly, it looks as if the brand-new $299 Gen 6 Wellness Version, Fossil’s first native Put on OS 3 watch, received the brief finish of the stick, too. 

Like the unique Gen 6, the Wellness Version has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 Plus chip. It’s received the identical 1.28-inch OLED show, the identical 1GB of RAM, and the identical 8GB of onboard storage. The Wellness Version additionally has the identical sensors. It’s successfully the identical watch, with a barely completely different aesthetic and Wear OS 3 installed out of the box. (Older Gen 6 watches shipped with Put on OS 2 however can now be updated to Wear OS 3.) On reflection, I’m unsure what I assumed could be completely different this time round. However, having hung out with all of the accessible Put on OS 3 watches on the market, it looks like there are two tiers of the working system: the Put on OS 3 you get on Samsung and Google watches and the one everybody else is caught with.

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The 44mm Gen 6 Wellness Version is a classy watch. Though it’s barely greater than my 42mm Gen 6, I dig the sleeker total aesthetic, and I favor the extra trendy tackle the buttons — I had fewer unintentional presses this time round, due to the flatter profile of the pushers. You’ll be able to simply swap out the default 20mm silicone straps, however I wouldn’t be ashamed to put on it as is to a proper occasion. It’s comfy for on a regular basis put on, and whereas it wouldn’t be my first selection for health monitoring and even within the prime 5, the chrome steel case provides a bit of additional sturdiness. Simply don’t take it within the pool, because it’s solely received 3ATM of water resistance. That’s tremendous for laundry dishes however isn’t thought-about secure for swimming.

However a snazzier design isn’t sufficient to redeem the Gen 6 lineup as an entire. The massive factor I used to be in search of with the Wellness Version was a greater total expertise. I received that, however I ended up with some sudden annoyances, too.

Put on OS 3 on the Gen 6 is best than Put on OS 2, however not essentially quicker. Scrolling by way of menus is zippy, and notifications pop up shortly. However generally, there’s a slight pause once you launch apps, or a display freezes for a scorching second earlier than transferring alongside. After I tried to obtain Strava by way of the on-wrist Play Retailer, it crashed. A number of instances. And when the search did “work,” Strava by no means really appeared as a downloadable app. I ended up having to push it from the net model of the Play Retailer, however it took some time earlier than it put in. That is so bizarre since I’ve positively downloaded Strava from the on-wrist Play Retailer onto each different Put on OS 3 watch I’ve examined. It wasn’t an enormous concern as a result of Adidas Operating got here preloaded, and you may also monitor exercises by way of the native Wellness app. However nonetheless. 

None of that made the Wellness Version unusable. It was simply odd. However apart from occasional stutters, Put on OS 3 was nonetheless an enchancment. It was so good to have extra third-party apps that really work. You would use Spotify on Put on OS 2, however it wasn’t an incredible expertise. It’s a lot improved in Put on OS 3 and at last helps offline playlists. You too can use YouTube Music, SoundCloud, or Deezer. (Does anybody use Deezer?)

Nevertheless, it’s not higher than Put on OS 3 on the Pixel Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 lineups. I think a few of my efficiency points had been because of the 4100 Plus chip, which launched in 2020 however didn’t actually seem in lots of watches till the tip of 2021. By then, Samsung had already moved on to a next-gen chip for its Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 lineups. The Pixel Watch makes use of a last-gen Samsung chip, however it’s been bumped as much as 2GB of RAM to make up for it. I’ve a sense a future Fossil Watch working the Snapdragon W5 Plus chip will carry out higher, however that’s not an possibility simply but.

However Put on OS 3 itself has extra options on Google and Samsung watches. These watches have Google Assistant. The Gen 6 Wellness Version doesn’t. It’s unclear if that’s coming someday sooner or later, however for now, you’ll must make do with Amazon Alexa. (It’s tremendous.) 

Alexa is best than nothing, however a smartwatch working Google software program must have Google Assistant. For well being and health monitoring, Google and Samsung’s Put on OS watches have sturdy native apps, too. Fossil has the Wellness app, however whereas it’s aesthetically pleasing, it’s not built-in properly into the general Put on OS 3 expertise. The Pixel Watch has a Fitbit integration, which, although imperfect, is extra polished than Fossil’s Wellness app. It’s straightforward to see a day by day Fitbit dashboard in your Tiles as properly. Samsung’s watches have Samsung Well being, which additionally integrates extra easily throughout the One Watch UI pores and skin Samsung runs over Put on OS 3. Even the previous Google Match Tiles might a minimum of offer you a fast visible of how far alongside you had been in your day by day objectives. 

That brings me to Fossil’s new companion app. Put on OS 3 has carried out away with the previous Put on OS app, which means firms must drum up their very own companion apps. Montblanc did it with the Summit 3, and Fossil’s carried out it right here, too. This places non-Google and non-Samsung Put on OS watches at an obstacle. Google has the Pixel Watch app, whereas Samsung has the Galaxy Wearable app. For well being, they depend on the Fitbit and Samsung Well being apps. It’s not elegant to depend on a number of apps, however settings are straightforward to edit, and there are ample methods to view your day by day and historic well being knowledge.

No offense to Fossil, however its app is skeletal. It appears fairly, and it’s greater than satisfactory at swapping watchfaces and customizing Tiles. However viewing historic well being knowledge is, to place it properly, unintuitive, and the minimalist knowledge isn’t that helpful. Then once more, a minimum of you’ll be able to view well being knowledge within the Fossil app at launch. You couldn’t with the Montblanc app once I examined, and I don’t have it anymore to verify. 

The one “edge” Fossil’s received over Google and Samsung is that its model of Put on OS 3 is iOS suitable. However that is extra of a philosophical win for individuals who both double-wield Android and iOS telephones or like to modify between the 2 platforms. iOS loyalists are more likely to go for an Apple Watch or perhaps a Garmin in the event that they’re actually into health.

Through the years, Fossil has tried to take the sting out of the not-so-great battery life on its watches. It was one of many first so as to add quick charging and a number of battery-saving modes. However it’s nearly 2023, and a smartwatch has received to final you thru the workday. This one not often did.

With the always-on show enabled, I used to be fortunate to make it to bedtime earlier than the watch mechanically switched to one in all its battery-saving modes. At some point, I had AOD on and took the watch off the charger at 9AM with 100%. By 11:30AM, it was right down to 69 p.c. Thus far, all I’d carried out was sit at my desk and hop on the bus to go to work. I received extra mileage if I turned AOD off, however going for a 30-minute GPS run nonetheless meant I needed to prime off the battery earlier than mattress if I wished to trace sleep.

On the very least, Fossil’s made it in order that the watches cost tremendous quick. You’ll be able to stand up to 80 p.c in half-hour. 

I attempted futzing round with some settings to see if I might stretch battery life additional, however that led me to a different one of many Wellness Version’s quirks. It will seemingly reset my settings once I caught it on the charger. Not each time, however usually sufficient to gaslight me. For instance, I all the time flip off sounds on smartwatches. My marriage depends upon it. My partner hates all types of digital dings, beeps, and bloops, however they particularly hate Fossil watch alerts. And but, the sounds saved turning again on. I really don’t have any rationalization for it, and I hope it’s one thing Fossil fixes in future updates.

The Gen 6 Wellness Version will not be significantly good at wellness. Take SpO2, or blood oxygen, monitoring. As with the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watches, you’ll be able to take SpO2 spot checks with the Wellness Version. It’s a comparatively new addition to Fossil watches, which I used to be completely happy to see because it was an indication that Fossil was making headway so far as superior well being monitoring goes.

Too dangerous that the primary time I attempted it, the watch mentioned my SpO2 ranges had been at 83 p.c. For context, 95 to 100% is taken into account normal, whereas anything below 90 percent is motive to hunt medical care. In fact, I attempted to see if this was a one-off, however the watch then failed to finish a number of subsequent readings. It saved telling me to put on my watch greater on the wrist and to regulate the strap, however neither appeared to make a distinction. (I additionally couldn’t have worn it any tighter — it was on the smallest potential strap gap.) I rebooted the watch, and that appeared to do the trick, however I nonetheless received extra errors than I normally do with smartwatch SpO2 readings.

The opposite metric I’d been trying ahead to was Cardio Health, or VO2 max. However though I’ve been sporting this look ahead to over per week, I’ve but to get a rating. Fossil’s troubleshooting FAQ says that it is best to be capable to get a rating in about 24 hours however that intermittent put on would possibly imply taking up per week. I’ve been sporting this watch all day, day-after-day, apart from when it’s on the charger or when it dies whereas I’m out and about. I’m nonetheless solely 60 p.c of the best way to a Cardio Health rating. It’s not unparalleled to attend that lengthy to gather sufficient knowledge for a metric, however it’s longer than common for VO2 max. 

The Wellness Version can monitor sleep, however it’s not a superb sleep tracker due to its poor battery life. A couple of instances, the watch had converted to time-only mode earlier than I awoke, though I’d gone to mattress with a minimum of 40 p.c. (That’s the minimal most different smartwatches recommend for sleep monitoring.) The outcome was that my sleep knowledge was unreliable as a result of the watch minimize sleep monitoring early. As an illustration, on an evening that my Apple Watch Extremely and Oura Ring tracked 7.5 hours of sleep, the Fossil tracked 4.5 hours. All three gadgets had been round 30–40 p.c charged, however solely the Fossil didn’t make it to the following morning. It doesn’t imply sleep monitoring is inconceivable — it simply means you’ve received to be far more aware of battery ranges than you’d with different gadgets. 

Then again, the Wellness Version was method higher at monitoring my out of doors runs than different current Fossil watches I’ve used.

Right here’s how GPS assessments are inclined to go together with Fossil watches. I strap it on, begin up the native health monitoring app, do my little run, and facepalm once I load up the recorded map. Often, there’s a stretch the place the GPS says I’m working within the East River or zigzagging by way of partitions like Kitty Pryde. Not this time. I went on two 30-minute runs, which I recorded on my telephone, the Gen 6 Wellness Version, the Garmin Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar, and the Apple Watch Ultra. The GPS maps corresponded throughout all 4 platforms, as did coronary heart fee, tempo, and distance knowledge. That’s a giant enchancment over the Fossil Gen 5 lineup. In any other case, coronary heart fee, tempo, and distance knowledge had been additionally on par throughout all 4 gadgets. 

I don’t count on an entire lot from Fossil watches on the well being and health entrance. That is nonetheless a vogue smartwatch, even whether it is referred to as the Wellness Version. So though my outcomes right here had been extremely blended, I wouldn’t say that’s a significant con. So long as you’re conscious that these options aren’t the principle focus, you’ll be able to nonetheless use this look ahead to informal well being and exercise monitoring.

For the previous couple of years, I’ve instructed Android customers to attend for the following Fossil watch. I’m loath to present that recommendation once more, however historical past appears to maintain repeating itself. As soon as once more, Fossil’s carried out the perfect job it could possibly to make lemonade out of Put on OS’s lemons. However older {hardware} and a less-finished model of Put on OS 3 hasn’t arrange any of the Gen 6 watches for fulfillment. 

That mentioned, in the event you’re selecting between a Fossil Gen 6 (or the Skagen Falster 6, Michael Kors Gen 6, and so on.) and the Gen 6 Wellness Version, I’d go together with this. Fossil has began rolling out Put on OS 3 to the vanilla Gen 6, however you’ll save time if it’s preloaded. Even when that’s not a priority, the Wellness Version has a extra elegant design, and the chrome steel case is a perk. I’d additionally positively choose this over the Montblanc Summit 3. Not solely will you save roughly $1,000, however it’s additionally a much less cumbersome watch, and the Fossil companion app is marginally higher, too.

However for the worth, you’re going to get a fuller expertise with the $280 Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or the $350 Pixel Watch. Each these watches have a extra polished model of Put on OS 3, quicker processors, higher battery life (although it’s a detailed name with the Pixel Watch), and extra sturdy well being options. Should you’re keen to pay $50 further, you may also get mobile connectivity. 

Hopefully, Fossil lastly will get a extra even taking part in subject with the Gen 7. Ideally, it’d get the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, and as soon as the Put on OS 3 transition nears completion, maybe there’ll be a extra uniform expertise throughout all Android smartwatches. (Trace trace, Google Assistant for everyone else, maybe?) Lord is aware of Fossil has had lots of persistence with the Put on OS platform over time. It’d be good to see that repay — for them and the Android smartwatch ecosystem as an entire.