Fossil prepares to release next gen Emporio Armani hybrid watch
We may be patiently waiting for Generation 6 Fossil watches, but before that we are likely to get another Emporio Armani hybrid watch.
This is according to a new filing posted yesterday on the Bluetooth SIG website. It is for a Bluetooth hybrid watch that goes under the moniker NDW5E1.
A good thing about the company is that it has a standardised naming convention. The letter towards the end of the moniker stands for the sub-brand – in this case Emporio Armani. The digit after that marks the number in that particular series.
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For comparison purposes, the NDW4E1 was the Emporio Armani Connected hybrid. The first watch in this series was released in October 2016. The smart tech included on the Connected line consists of notifications, basic activity and sleep tracking, the ability to control your music, alarms, smartphone camera control and find your lost device (for smartphones).
As far as charging, the watch runs on a coin cell battery. Water resistance is 3 ATM and the activity tracking progress is displayed on a secondary dial. It was a good first effort, but there’s clearly room for improvement.
Next gen Emporio Armani Connected hybrid
The Bluetooth SIG listing does not reveal very much. The only real info is that the hybrid will run Bluetooth 5.1.
For more clues as to what to expect, we need to go to the FCC website. Last month the US regulator added a device that goes under the name NDW5F1. That is clearly a Fossil watch, but part of the same hybrid range as Emporio Armani – as denoted by the NDW5.
For that one we have more details and it is reasonable to expect the Emporio Armani watch will be very similar. According to the FCC listing, the Fossil watch will pack a CR2430 3V battery. Depending on specs that should be able to run the watch for at least six months.
The pic of the label reveals 5 ATM water-resistance which is an improvement, but it doesn’t appear the device will have a heart rate sensor which is a bit of a disappointment. So expect the same old step tracking, distance and calories burned, and not much else.
If you check the Emporio Armani website, you’ll notice that all the hybrids in its range are currently sold out. That along with the Bluetooth listing is a strong indicator we should see the next generation very soon.
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