By Md Waquar Haider
New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS): As smartwatch adoption grows in India, the American maker Fossil which is aiming to expand its footprint in the country has brought 'Fossil Gen 6' to the country that offers several hardware upgrades over the previous model.
The features include new Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chipset, fast-charging support and a new SpO2 sensor.
The watch is offered in two variants: 42mm case in four colour options and 44mm case in three colour finishes. The wearable comes in Smoke Stainless Steel, Brown Leather, Green Camo Grosgrain and Gold/Purple options.
The Fossil Gen 6 costs Rs 23,995 for the 42mm model and Rs 24,995 for the 44mm version.
We used the 42mm model (Brown Leather) for a week and here is what we think about this smartwatch.
In terms of design, the device stands out in the crowd, owing to its black circular dial and interchangeable brown leather strap.
The device houses a 1.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen. The display is beautiful and sharp to look at.
It is nearly perfect in different light conditions and during the review, we didn't face any issues while using it outdoors.
The Gen 6 smartwatch is the first smartwatch powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ platform, providing users faster application load times, highly responsive user experiences, and more efficient power consumption.
The smartwatch comes with 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage.
Gen 6 is compatible with Google's latest system update, Wear OS 3, and will be eligible for the Wear OS 3 system update in 2022.
The smartwatch houses Bluetooth v5.0, a speakerphone and mic to enable calls.
The Fossil Gen 6's first-party health software is quite limited -- the Cardiogram app periodically measures and charts heart rate. Most users will probably opt for the installed-by-default 'Google Fit' suite of apps to track exercise and other health metrics.
In addition to wellness updates from Fossil Group released in 2020, Gen 6 boasts an upgraded heart rate sensor to allow continuous tracking and improved signal accuracy.
Users will also benefit from the new SpO2 sensor, which tracks an estimate of the wearer's blood oxygen measurements to see how well your body is circulating oxygen over time.
The smartwatch also comes with a bevy of sensors, including HRM, accelerometer, altimeter, compass, gyroscope as well as off-body IR sensor.
The battery on Gen 6 lasted for more than 24 hours on a single charge.
According to the company, the charging speed is two times faster than its predecessor, reaching 80 per cent in about 30 minutes of charging.
This, combined with the Snapdragon Wear4100+ platform, decreased power consumption and Fossil Group-developed 'Smart Battery Modes' puts the user in control and allows for more than 24 hours of battery life (based on usage) or multiple days in 'Extended Battery Mode'.
Conclusion: Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch is for those who admire Google Wear OS. The performance of the wearable is far ahead of its predecessor but faces stiff competition, especially from recently launched Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.