Many people prefer wearing a smartwatch these days – devices that are next only to mobile phones to occupy people’s minds the most and keep them engaged. A typical scenario: in the metro or in the shopping mall, you’ll often see the wearer fiddling with these wrist devices. The reason is simple—they don’t just tell the time.
The purpose is either functional (telling the time, checking out notifications, etc.,) or because it’s fashionable.
A good watch looks great on someone’s wrist and if there’s one thing Fossil knows how to do well, it’s fashionable watches. Their new Gen 5 is a good-looking touchscreen smartwatch with speaker, heart rate, GPS and phone notifications. I have been using this great piece of innovation from Fossil for the past few days and this `22,995-a-piece device is worth your money. It is the right travel buddy right on your wrist, works as a great fitness tracker, you can reply to messages and receive calls instantly, check your social media notifications and much more. Let us check out some of its key features.
In the box, we received the Carlyle HR model (the other is Julianna HR), it has a display size of 1.28-inch full round AMOLED, (328 pixels per inch), the case size is 44mm, basically a stainless steel case and top ring, thickness is 12mm and it comes with 22mm straps and bracelets. I strongly recommend you to refer to the Quick Start Guide in order to set up and sync the watch seamlessly to your mobile device. First, connect your smartwatch to the included charger. When it’s fully charged, press the middle button to turn on.
Second, download the latest version of the Wear OS by Google App onto your phone from the App Store or Google Play store. Open the app, enable Bluetooth and follow the prompts to pair your smartwatch. Once paired, your smartwatch will walk you through the rest of the setup.
Technical-speak, the Gen5 smartwatch is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform, there’s Wear OS by Google and it is compatible with iOS 10+ or Android 4.4+. There are plenty of sensors available: Heart Rate, NFC, GPS, Altimeter, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Ambient Light, Microphone. The watch connects via Bluetooth technology and there is wireless syncing, plus magnetic charging. You can download third party apps with 8GB of storage and 1G RAM memory capacity.
Gen 5’s improved heart-rate sensor is battery efficient, so you can check your heart rate anytime you’re on the move. You can get things done on the go with help from the Google Assistant on your wrist. Ask it anything and hear responses and alerts through your watch’s speaker that is swimproof. Users have the ability to take calls on their smartwatch and answer them right on the wrist. When a notification or alert arrives, a gentle buzz lets you know right away.
Gen 5 offers four battery life pre-sets, putting the user in control and allowing for extended battery life. There’s an ‘Extended Battery Mode’ where users can extend to multiple days on a single charge while still enjoying essential features like notifications and heart rate. ‘Daily Mode’ allows users to experience most features enabled, such as always-on screen. ‘Custom Mode’ allows users to easily manage battery optimisation settings themselves, all in one place, where ‘Time-Only Mode’ gives users additional hours when the watch has a low battery or if they choose to use the smartwatch to only tell time. From the home screen on your watch, swipe down from the top and tap the battery icon to choose the mode that’s right for you.
In summary, if you are tired of your traditional watch and want a modern-looking model, then the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch is for you.
Estimated street price: Rs 22,995
