Why I buy the Fossil Gen 6 on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

The Galaxy Watch 4 is out, and with it a ton of Wear OS 3 goodness. Given that Samsung is such a big player in space, it’s great to see Galaxy and Google’s Wear OS playing together on the same device. .

However, one shouldn’t forget about the other players in this space, including Fossil, which has just launched its new Gen 6 smartwatch. Although this and other Wear OS 3 smartwatches are not expected to receive the system upgrade. operating before mid-2022, the Fossil Gen 6 is still worth a visit. In fact, this will probably end up being my choice for my next smartwatch over the Galaxy Watch 4.

Subtlety is the key

For me, design is everything, and I’ve always been a fan of the Fossil line of smartwatches. That’s not to say the Galaxy Watch 4 has a bad design; on the contrary, the Galaxy Watch 4 is fantastic. But there’s something about it that just screams, “I AM A SMART WATCH!” “

For most people, this is perfectly fine. Juhani Lehtimäki, CTO at Snapp Mobile, recently told Android Central how the Apple Watch is considered a status symbol for iPhone users. “Even though the battery is gone, people wear it because it’s something that shows you’re an Apple user.”

The Galaxy Watch 4 tries to be Android’s Apple Watch.

The Galaxy Watch 4 could end up being the equivalent of Android status symbol, especially since Samsung is a big Android OEM that pays special attention to design – and makes sure its smartwatch is the perfect companion for the best phones. Android.

However, I prefer a more “subtle” design, something that at least looks more like a traditional watch at first glance. With its Gen 6 smartwatch, Fossil achieved this with its two shortcut buttons flanking the central rotating crown. Obviously, this is subjective, but it does have a more classic design than even the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic in a way and is also available in many different colors and sizes, so anyone can find a watch that matches their look. style. After all, Fossil is a fashion brand.

Last year’s chip still holds this year

There is also the question of performance. While it can be argued that the Galaxy Watch 4 can be more powerful and efficient than the Fossil Gen 6 with its 5nm Exynos chip, it might not matter much.

Fossil is the first smartwatch OEM to release the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ 12nm, and while it’s already a year-old chip, there’s no doubt that it will perform just fine. and Fossil claims a 30% increase in performance over the previous generation. 5 connected watches.

I’ve owned the Fossil Gen 5 for quite some time, which I’ve always found to work decently with the even older Snapdragon Wear 3100. However, my experience with the Mobvoi TicWatch E3 shows me how much of an improvement the Snapdragon Wear is. 4100 is, and Wear OS 2.x is running like butter.

The Plus variant of the Wear 4100 should perform just as well, if not better, especially with the added efficiency of the coprocessor to run health functions in the background, so performance is the least of my concerns.

Trendy Late Night Wear OS 3

Yes, Wear OS 3 won’t arrive on the Fossil Gen 6 until later next year, but I can wait. Samsung’s version of the operating system running One UI Watch is very Samsung-centric, lacking features like Google Assistant (although it could possibly happen) and roughly forcing Samsung Health for most of the tracking functionality. health. Even though I own a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, I’m much more rooted in Google’s ecosystem than Samsung’s, and I’d rather not change that by buying a Galaxy Watch 4.

Fossil smartwatches also work with Android smartphones (and even work with iPhones), and the company was very happy to bring its own software to Wear OS, like its Wellness app that automatically tracks workouts and sleep. This is something I imagine Fossil will follow with Gen 6, especially Wear OS 3 down the line.

The company has previously announced that it plans to bring the “software benefits that Google is talking about and is launching with the unified platform,” including Fitbit integration (which we haven’t seen yet).

For years, Fossil was more or less the OEM of the Wear OS smartwatch, having a huge presence in Google’s wearable platform alongside its other brands, Skagen and Diesel, and the company seemed to keep the platform. at least somewhat relevant form over the years. Unless an official Google Pixel Watch, Fossil has always been for me the Wear OEM OS where users can expect a “stock” experience, with some additional features exclusive to Fossil, such as cool watch faces, additional battery modes.

Samsung against everyone

Of course, the Galaxy Watch 4 has a few perks that I’d love to see over the Fossil Gen 6, like the new BIA sensor, LTE options and, of course, early access to Wear OS 3. But none of these are exactly. must-haves for me. Fossil and other Wear OS OEMs are always getting updated experiences from apps like Google Messages and Spotify, which will be enough to hold me back while I wait for Wear OS 3.

There is no doubt that the Galaxy Watch 4 is one of the best Android smartwatches on the market right now. However, it appears that Google’s approach to Wear OS 3 places the future of the platform on Samsung’s shoulders, while other OEMs have maintained the platform before. Let’s not forget that they are just as important to the ecosystem as Samsung.

That said, it will be exciting to see what Wear OS 3 looks like on other smartwatches, especially those made by smartphone makers.