FCC filing reveals a new Fossil hybrid watch will drop soon
Unlike some previous years, Fossil has had a slow 2021 in terms of new devices so far. But soon me might be getting a hybrid watch.
The FCC have just published a filing for a new Fossil watch. It goes under the moniker UK7-NDW5F1. The company has a naming convention where one of the letters stands for the sub-brand. This is how we know this is Fossil watch and not one from its many sub-brands.
Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets
For example, Fossil “Machine” Q Hybrid goes under the moniker NDW2F9. The letters “NDW” appear to denote a hybrid watch across the Fossil brand range. These are devices that look like a traditional watch, but act like a smartwatch. The letter “F” stands for Fossil.
That it is a hybrid is further confirmed by the specs that can be gathered from the FCC listing. The watch has support for Bluetooth but not WiFi or NFC.
Plus it runs on a Lithium Ion CR2430 3V battery. Coin cell batteries are what is found in many hybrid watches, particularly those that do not have a lot of fitness tech built inside. They therefore have the capacity to keep the watches going anywhere up to 6 months.
The snapshot of the label reveals the hybrid has water-resistance down to 50 meters (5 ATM). It also doesn’t appear to have a heart rate sensor unlike some some other hybrids in Fossil’s range.
Therefore, you can expect this timepiece to track steps, distance and calories burned, and not much else. Smart connectivity should end with notifications for texts, calls and social messages.
Release date, Fossil gen 6 watches
We were more interested in when the Fossil generation 6 smartwatch would drop. There was a talk this could happen in July but so far there’ve been no credible leaks. Gen 6 smartwatches are expected to come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 SoC.
Hopefully, they’ll also be compatible with Google’s upcoming WearOS 3. It is therefore entirely possible Fossil might delay things a bit until the new software is ready.
The confidentiality clause on the FCC document runs out on August 1st. Which means the new Fossil hybrid should drop in the next month or so.
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