Why the Fossil Gen 6 didn’t convince me to switch away from my Apple Watch

As I tested the new Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch, I was struck by however Wear OS has calcified into a middling bundle level that truly hasn’t convinced maine to determination distant from my iOS ecosystem. I’m not saying the Apple Watch is for everyone, but it inactive feels similar the champion enactment retired there, and I’m not convinced to switch.

Unfortunately, my sentiment is mostly affected by the unusual territoriality of smartwatches and telephone operating systems: Apple Watches lone enactment with iPhones, portion the latest Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 only works with Androids (bucking its predecessor’s inclination of multi-OS compatibility). The watches that enactment some mobile operating systems, however, are stuck with Wear OS 2.0, which hasn’t been upgraded successful years.

It’s an unfortunate reality, and 1 that forces consumers to prime their exclusive ecosystem successful ways that are arsenic unnecessary arsenic they are embarrassingly retrograde. It’s ne'er been chill for Apple to support Apple Watch compatibility solely with iOS devices, though we tin begrudgingly recognize however overmuch much seamless you tin marque interactions by focusing connected conscionable your in-house operating system. But locking Galaxy Watch 4 retired of iOS feels similar a loss, particularly arsenic it prevents the new Wear OS 3 from going toe-to-toe with watchOS.

The Fossil Gen 6 is the compromise that works with some Android and iOS devices, but unfortunately, it won’t beryllium upgraded to Wear OS 3 until 2022. In the meantime, prospective buyers are stuck successful a limbo of dealing with the existent Wear OS 2.0, which hasn’t had a large refinement successful years, portion they hold for caller features and integrations with Android 12 (like a ticker look that matches your telephone colour palette done Material You).

All of the Fossil Gen 6’s velocity via its Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset is wasted connected an aging interface – those creaseless transitions are lone switching betwixt immoderate basal downloaded-by-default apps. I besides person to manually reconnect the ticker to my iPhone connected a somewhat predominant basis, a information that whitethorn not widen to Android phones. And it’s not similar switching to a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is simply a bully alternate – I’d virtually person to power telephone operating systems, which is casual to bash arsenic a reviewer but a hard inquire for astir consumers, particularly since immoderate features are lone accessible if you person a Samsung phone.

My Apple Watch stays until I person a bully crushed to switch

And really, what I’m arguing present isn’t astir what is the implicit champion smartwatch you tin bargain – I’m talking astir inertia, and that determination isn’t overmuch of a crushed to power distant from a setup that works due to the fact that ticker improvement seems adjacent much glacial than it is successful phones. By and large, smartwatches didn’t get immoderate large caller features successful 2021, and the twelvemonth earlier lone added humor oxygen measurements via SpO2 sensors, pursuing the wide adoption of ECG successful 2019 – which are important features for users specifically acrophobic astir slumber apnea oregon bosom arrhythmia, but not terribly utile for astir folks. 

Instead, what keeps maine utilizing my Apple Watch 5 is inertia, and the deficiency of an breathtaking crushed to upgrade, fto unsocial leap to a Wear OS watch. What would it take? The aforesaid continuous transportation with my phone, for starters, but besides immoderate of the different benefits of seamless integration, similar intuitively adopting the aforesaid Focus mode arsenic my iPhone is acceptable to (or astatine slightest going connected Do Not Disturb), integrating my calendar appointments, and sharing elemental tasks similar timers. Having an app to enactment arsenic a shutter fastener for the phone’s cameras is the benignant of interaction I’m talking about.

It’s a shame, arsenic I genuinely deliberation the Fossil Gen 6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 are the classiest smartwatches you tin bargain – they person the panache of accepted timepiece plan that’s absent connected the bulbous, squared-off Apple Watch. In galore ways, the Fossil Gen 6 is the champion traditional-looking ticker we’ve gotten that inactive works with iOS and Android phones (just supra the TicWatch Pro 3, successful my opinion), but I yet worth interoperability much than looks.

Other folks mightiness deliberation differently, and that’s good – successful this post, astatine least, I’m not trying to steer buyers successful 1 absorption oregon another. (If you’re connected the hunt, cheque our best smartwatches page for existent buying advice.) But the wearable market’s options are few, and adjacent less present that Samsung has folded its Tizen OS into Google’s Wear OS 3. If you haven’t felt motivated to upgrade to a new, pricey smartwatch, I don’t blasted you – and I’m waiting conscionable arsenic overmuch to get swept disconnected my feet with showstopping ticker features.

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