If you're looking to up your style game for 2022 when it comes to tracking your fitness prowess, then a new smartwatch like the swanky Fossil Gen 6 might be a solid option.
At the pricier end of the wearable tech market, the Fossil brand, the technology and the look push it up to £279 or £299, depending on which design you opt for. The Gen 6 operates using Wear OS by Google, so it's compatible with both iPhone and Android users and is a strong competitor for the Apple Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy series.
The Gen 6 comes in different designs, but they’re not interchangeable. There’s a purple silicone strap with a rose gold diamante face and a rose gold stainless steel strap, both catered towards women. For genderless options, there is a brown leather strap and a black silicone strap, and for a more masculine feel, smoky stainless steel, dark camo and gunmetal grey, all with dark grey or black watch faces.
When it comes to day-to-day use and its array of impressive features, the big question is: does the battery cope, or will it be attached to a charging cable all the time? More on that later. We put the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch to the test, to see if it's worth the cost for the tech, or whether buyers should stick with a more affordable option.
www.fossil.com
Description
Touchscreen? Yes Colour display? Yes 1.28" Color AMOLED GPS? Yes Bluetooth? Yes 5.0 Compatibility? Both iOs and Android Size: 42mm x 42mm Battery life: Up to 24 hours Material: Silicone strap, case stainless steel Sound: Loudspeaker, Microphone, Vibration Water resistant: Yes 3 ATM
How does the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch make your life easier?
As a regular Fitbit user, I only need one phone app to sync my watch so I can track my daily activities, heart rate, and sleep data. The Fossil Gen 6 was a little more complicated as it needed the Wear OS app to configure the watch, as well as the Google Fit app to see the in-depth data.
It does have an impressive array of features packed into the oversized watch face, along with a 1.28-inch AMOLED colour display that also features three large buttons on the side to switch between functions. The watch runs on a Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage – it makes it fast, and there are no delays when switching between menus.
However, the three buttons in my opinion are a useless design flaw, the two smaller ones act as shortcuts to part of the menu, depending on how you set it up. The larger middle one rotates to go through one of the drop-down menus, but when it’s pressed, it doesn’t cancel your choice and return to the main screen.
The notifications were easy to set up and full-text messages can be clearly read thanks to the brightly lit screen, and you can even type on a mini keyboard as well as send emojis. Being able to leave your phone in your bag and do everything from your watch, including taking phone calls made life a little easier, and I didn't feel as tied to my phone.
Would you recommend the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch?
There are so many detailed features packed into the Fossil Gen 6 that I wasn't surprised when the battery had drained after less than half a day of my first wear.
To reduce battery usage, you can turn off several functions like the ‘Always On’ display, the heart rate monitor, and picking a simple watch face. This way it will last through the night so you can track your sleep.
The overall design and appearance of the Fossil Gen 6, however, is smart, stylish and bold. If you are used to a chunky timepiece, then this is one for you. Even though it’s larger at 42mm, it isn’t heavy and is more than comfortable to sleep in thanks to the soft silicone strap.
What changes would you make to the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch?
The user experience isn’t always easy, for example, the raise to wake function didn’t always register if I needed to check the time and I had to tap it three times before the screen would appear. The push-button on the outside immediately took me to the menu and meant always tapping backwards just to see the home screen.
The Google Fit app has your usual activity tracking - vitals like heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature, blood pressure and resting heart rate, and there’s sleep tracking and for those who menstruate, period cycle tracking.
But the menstrual tracking doesn’t allow you to log any symptoms, which personally I think would be a good addition for health reasons. However, sleep tracking is very detailed, telling you the stages of your sleep, efficiency and measuring your heart rate while you snooze.
Verdict: Would you choose the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch above all others on the market?
For an active user, I noticed that the smartwatch isn’t designed as a fitness tracker. You can track your activities and read the data, of course, but the style and appearance are key priorities here, especially if you opt for the bracelet chain Gen 6. For example, if I performed an exercise like a push-up, the buttons on the watch pressed and paused my workout.
Considering how brilliant it works as a standalone smartwatch, rendering your phone unnecessary unless you want to browse the internet, it’s a great addition to have. But as someone who wears their watch to workout every day, it was in the way a little bit too much. I’d probably wear the Fossil Gen 6 if I was taking a break from heavy exercise, but it depends on if you can afford to have a smartwatch for every mood!
A very solid performance with just a few personal niggles, if you’re happy charging your watch up every day just like you do with your phone, it shouldn’t be an issue. And with the fast charging, you’re not going to be hanging around long for it to be fully charged.
www.fossil.com
Description
Pros u2022 Can rely on it instead of phone u2022 Clear crisp OLED display u2022 Fast Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset u2022 Fast charging Cons u2022 Poor battery life u2022 Too many apps u2022 Unnecessary buttons
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