One Of The Biggest Smartwatch Makers Just Gave Up On Wear OS
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The first smartwatch I bought from a multi-brand smartwatch store or electronics store was a Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle. This was a conscious decision because I didn't want to wear a Fitbit or Apple Watch to a party or family event like some stupid tech geek. Those days are officially over as Fossil has decided to exit the smartwatch business.
The global fashion brand told The Verge that the Fossil Gen 6, which will receive a Wellness Edition update in 2022, is its newest smartwatch. “As the smartwatch market has changed significantly over the past several years, we have made a strategic decision to exit the smartwatch business,” said Jeff Boyer, CEO of Fossil.
The company said it will continue to support its existing line of Wear OS smartwatches "for years to come." Unfortunately, “what is” and “a little” are a bit vague here, and not necessarily in a good way.
A Fossil flagship store executive told Digital Trends that the sixth generation will receive software updates for two years. When asked to clarify whether this included annual Wear OS updates or security-focused updates, the executive declined to elaborate.
When we asked about the older generation of Fossil Gen 5 smartwatches and whether they would have the same modes, they told us they were waiting for more clarity on this topic. However, this is a bleak picture. The Fossil Gen 6 (with the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chip inside) is already at the end of Qualcomm's portfolio, and the Fossil Gen 5 series is based on the older Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip.
In particular, Fossil appears to be looking to offload its inventory of Wear OS smartwatches, and signs of Wear OS support being discontinued have previously been reported internally. At least two Fossil Exclusive retailers have told Digital Trends that they are offering attractive 50% discounts on various Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch models.
In terms of warranties, we're told that if customers purchase a Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch, they'll receive a one-year hardware warranty. This is the standard warranty policy for the US primary market. However, Fossil appears to be trying to sweeten the deal for its loyalists, who are willing to go the extra mile.
The brand's exclusive retailer told Digital Trends that if you buy a Fossil Gen 6 device at 50% off but the smartwatch has issues within the first year of purchase, you'll receive store credit equal to the original retail price. at a discounted price and can be used to purchase other available Fossil fashion and lifestyle accessories.
But the situation with software updates is a little more complicated. Since OS updates tend to target a certain base level of processing power, it's hard to imagine Fossil's Gen 5 line will receive the same biennial updates as the relatively new Gen 6 smartwatches.
However, since Fossil Gen 5 has officially been discontinued, the new Gen 6 is only available at retail stores. But these things have been going on for a long time.
Fossil hasn't released a next-generation smartwatch since the Gen 6 family. Qualcomm released the Snapdragon Wear 5 (or W5) and its Plus variant in mid-2022, but Fossil hasn't released any new products based on Qualcomm's new silicon. portable
It's a shame that Fossil has to leave the smartwatch world, especially at a time when the merger of Wear OS and Tizen OS is breathing new life into the Android smartwatch ecosystem. But more importantly, Fossil is the only brand that makes stylish and fashionable smartwatches that don't look like boring traditional technology.
Or, worst of all, rugged suits with screens that look like they came from the Ben 10 universe!
