Fossil reveals Gen 6 Wellness Edition as WearOS 3.0 comes to more watches
Fossil has announced today the Gen 6 Wellness Edition watch. It comes with a streamlined look and an upgraded app. This is the company’s first watch that will be run on WearOS 3.0.
Other watches will be getting WearOS 3.0 starting on October 17th
The much anticipated rollout of the next generation operating system will hit Fossil’s older watches on October 17th. Which means not too long to go now before owners of the Fossil Gen 6, Michael Kors Gen 6 and Skagen Falster Gen 6 receive the new software. All of these are watches pack the Qualcomm 4100+ processor.
To remind, WearOS 3.0 was originally made available about a year ago. At the time, we expected wider adoption to hit by the summer of 2022. The first smartwatch manufacturer to adapt the operating system was Samsung. There is also Montblanc Summit 3. And let’s not forget the recent launch of Pixel Watch which runs on WearOS 3.5.
The American brand says users will need to reset their watches to factory settings when installing the upgrade. Not ideal, but it is a total revamp of the operating system. The user interface will be very similar to what can be found on the Pixel Watch. So unlike Samsung which has customized the software, Fossil has opted for a more straightforward approach.
Users will need to refresh the Wellness app for health and sports tracking. This also runs on iOS allowing those who use Apple’s smartphone access to a WearOS watch. Another Fossil novelty are customizable battery modes.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
The caveat is that you will not be able to run Google Assistant on WearOS 3.0. It turns out there’s a compatibility issue between the software and clocks that can be found on Qualcomm processors. Of course, you can always opt for the Amazon Alexa app as Fossil has released the app earlier in the year. And you do get access to the new Google Maps, Google Weather and Google Home.
Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition runs WearOS 3.0 out of the box
In other Fossil news, there’s the Gen 6 Wellness Edition watch. It also launches on October 17 and will run the new Google operating system out of the box. So no installation required.
As far as its specs, there isn’t too much that is new. After all, this is not a Gen 7 watch. So the wait for the first one in that range continues.
Gen 6 Wellness Edition packs the Snapdragon 4100+ processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, NFC for Google Wallet payments, and the same fitness sensors of other watches in this generation. However, the fitness features have received a bit of a revamp in Fossil’s Wellness app.
You track the usual activity and health stats, in addition to blood oxygen. The Vo2Max value will provide you with info about your level of fitness, and the watch can automatically start certain types of workouts. The last on this list is something Pixel watch is not capable of.
As you’d expect battery life is nothing to write home about. You can expect about a day. The super-fast charging at least ensures the wait for a top-up is not too long.
The $299 Gen 6 Wellness edition is available in a choice between black, silver and rose gold. All of these come with a sleek 44mm case with curved edges, and a 1.28 inch display. On the side are two function buttons, along with a revamped rotating crown. The 20mm watch bands are replaceable. Extra ones go for $30 each.
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