The Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch has better specs and a blood oxygen sensor, but largely the same classy and pricey top-end watch as its predecessor.
The Fossil Watches have been solid Wear OS devices leaning on sleek design rather than pioneering new features. But the new Fossil Gen 6 packs a few new things that few of its contemporaries do: the new Snapdragon 4100 Plus chipset and will eventually (in 2022) get the new Wear OS 3, better known as the version that combines Google’s wearable operating system and Samsung’s Tizen OS. Granted, that’s most of the improvements on the Fossil Gen 5, and the layout is virtually identical. But if you felt the last smartwatch was a bit too sleek, the new Fossil Gen 6 has more pronounced pusher and crown buttons and a ridge on the bezel. It’s still classy, though it doesn’t look much different from the last model. It’s the internal updates that really set the watch apart. In addition to the Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset, which pushes the smartwatch to what Fossil claims is 30% faster speeds than the Fossil Gen 5, the new Fossil Gen 6 has 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. The 1.28-inch AMOLED display seems unchanged from its predecessor, but it’s still top quality. On the sensor side, the Fossil Gen 6 adds SpO2 sensors to track blood oxygen levels, as well as an upgraded heart rate sensor for periodic tracking. Without much in the way of first-party software, though, you’ll probably rely on the Google Fit apps to track your fitness and health. Overall, the Fossil Gen 6 has several advances on its predecessor, but with some battery concerns and a pricetag rivaling the top non-Apple smartwatches, we’re unsure if the Gen 6 will outpace the best smartwatches led by the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. The Fossil Gen 6 was released on September 27,2021, and comes in both 42mm and 44mm models, both with black cases. The smaller 42mm version costs $299 / £279 (around AU$410), while the 44mm model costs $319 / £299 (around AU$439). The Fossil Gen 6’s design doesn’t change much on its predecessors – it’s still a black-cased round smartwatch with black flexible plastic watchbands included in the box, and a crown on the right side flanked by pusher buttons on either side. The new wearable has gotten a few tweaks to set it apart from the Gen 5, so it’s not exactly the same, but you’d have to get close to tell the difference.
