By Krishna SinhaChaudhury
New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS): When you think of Google's Wear OS, not many names of smartwatches may strike you immediately. But keen observers may recall Misfit and some others might name Fossil.
The Texas-headquartered Fossil is one of the few brands that have remained loyal to Google's Wear OS (previously known as Android Wear). The company refreshes its smartwatch line-up each year minus the fanfare that a Samsung smartwatch enjoys.
Incidentally, Samsung's new watches and hearables (both self-branded as well as JBL-branded) captured 9.8 per cent share of the global wearable market, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).
Powered by Wear OS, Fossil has now introduced the Gen 5 Smartwatch in the growing India wearable market for Rs 22,995 that promises extended battery mode and has a swim proof speaker.
Here's how the smartwatch fared in real life.
Those familiar with Fossil smartwatches will feel at home with the Gen 5. We reviewed the "Carlyle" style Gen 5 which has a typical masculine approach.
It sports a chunky 1.28-inch AMOLED screen with a pixel density of 328ppi (pixel per inch) and three pushers on the right side and the middle of which is a rotatable crown. However, the bezel doesn't rotate like a Samsung Galaxy watch.
The display is beautiful and sharp to look at. However, the bright outdoors can make it a tad trickier to see.
Underneath sits the heart rate sensor that does not detect irregular heartbeat which the Apple Watch does, or what Samsung's upcoming Tizen OS smartwatches promise.
Fossil Gen 5 sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3,100 chip, which, as promised, helps the device with battery life.
We found that the battery life was better than the average Wear OS watches out there, falling a little short of a day's life on a single charge. However, keeping the always on display can lead to further depletion of the battery.
The company has custom modes to further help the device last longer.
The addition of a speaker was refreshing. One can use it while keeping it connected to their smartphone.
The speaker also allows your watch to answer you when are using Google Assistant and also can take calls from the watch.
The device is also water resistant up to 3ATM.
Conclusion: The Fossil Gen 5 offers a dependable proposition, which has ample versatility. Also, one can easily swap the straps for customising it further. The smartwatch is meant to keep both Wear OS fans and fitness enthusiasts happy.