Seven months after Google bought part of the Fossil Wear OS watch division, the firm returns to the load with a new range of smartwatches. The company has christened it as Fossil Gen 5 and, as is tradition, its new smartwatches go back to Wear OS as an operating system.
Among the novelties of the Fossil Gen 5, the extended battery mode and the speaker stand out. The first is a patented technology with various battery settings whose purpose is “to offer a more durable battery mode“. In contrast, the second is designed to answer and make calls directly from the watch. We will talk about these two functions later, but first, let’s review its technical sheet.
Specifications of the Fossil Gen 5
| FOSSIL GEN 5 | |
|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS | 44 x 44 x 12 mm |
| SCREEN | 1.28 inch AMOLED 328 x 328 pixels |
| PROCESSOR | Snapdragon Wear 3100 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| INTERNAL STORAGE | 8 GB |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Wear OS |
| DRUMS | 36 hours Fast charge |
| CONNECTIVITY | Bluetooth 4.2 LE WiFi NFC GPS |
| COMPATIBILITY | Android 4.4 or higher iOS 9.3 or higher |
| RESISTANCE | 3 ATM |
| SENSORS | Altimeter Ambient light Gyroscope Heart rate |
| OTHERS | Various battery modes Compatible with mobile payments Music control Magnetic charging |
Several styles with a similar aesthetic
The new Fossil Gen 5 arrives in two different styles. The first is Julianna HR, with a more feminine design and golden pink spheres. The second is Carlyle HR, with black and gray spheres, darker straps and more masculine design. A mere aesthetic issue, since the size of the strap and the spheres, is exactly the same: 44 x 44 mm, 12 mm thick and 22 mm straps.
At the top, we have a fully circular AMOLED screen of 1.28 inches and a 328 x 328 pixels resolution. From it, we can access the “Tiles“, a new feature of Wear OS that allows you to consult information and perform actions by sliding to the right or left. Through gestures we can also access the applications, highlighting Spotify or Noonlight and Cardiogram, which are preinstalled.
Fossils new battery management mode
Fossil watches allow changing the battery management mode to improve autonomy. Now that we talk about applications, let’s talk about functions. The extended battery mode is an elegant way of referring to different battery management systems. There are four and they are the following:
1. Extended battery mode: only essential functions of the watch are left activated and, depending on the brand, “extend a single charge to several days“.
2. Daily mode: more features enabled, such as the screen always visible. Let’s say it’s the way we will use the most.
3. Custom mode: allows the user to configure which functions and settings are activated.
4. Time-only mode: the clock starts showing only the time to avoid unnecessary consumption.
On the other hand, we have the speaker, and Fossil has implemented it to offer sound alerts or notifications, voice interactions with Google Assistant, translations through Google Translator and music playback or answer calls directly from the clock. It will be available on Android and also on iOS, something we had not seen so far.
We end up talking about performance. The new Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch arrives with Snapdragon Wear 3100, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage and a battery day (according to the manufacturer). It has resistance to 3 ATM (30 meters deep), NFC for mobile payments and compatibility with Android 4.4 or higher or iOS 10 or higher. Android Go terminals are excluded.
The Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch will be available on Amazon India for a price of Rs. 22,995, a month after its global launch. The smartwatch is available in the Carlyle series and Julianna series. The Carlyle series can be purchased in Smoke (steel), Black (silicone) and Dark Brown (leather) straps while Julianna models can be picked up in Rose Gold (steel), Blush (leather) and Black (silicone) variants.
