Fossil Q Smartwatches: more than 300 new case designs

April 16, 2020

With its Q Marshal (Review report), Fossil has impressively demonstrated that a smartwatch does not automatically have to be bulky and unsightly. At the end of April, the Fossil Group presented more than 300 new case designs for its smart watches. The extremely high number of new models comes about because the Fossil Group produces not only its own brand Fossil but also under license for more than ten other brands. These include names such as Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani, Diesel and DKNY. All these optically completely different clocks are based on the fossil technology.

Unfortunately, not all of the enclosures exhibited in the showroom were released for publication, as some licensors will only be launching their designs in the next few months. Own photos or videos were therefore taboo and we can only show official product photos here.

Smartwatches

The latest wearables from Fossil bear the model names Q venture and Q Explorist. The Q Venture comes across as classic, while the Q Explorist looks like a pilot's watch. The technology in both devices is absolutely identical, so that buyers only have to choose one design regardless of technical details. But that alone is not so easy – Fossil alone has at least five completely different housing designs on offer with the new models alone. There are also all variants of the other brands. Practical is a quick-change clasp through which the bracelets can be exchanged simply and easily.

The battery stopped at the Q Marshal with average use for about a day. According to the manufacturer, this is the same with the current models. We are excited to see what the first tests will show.

After all, the watches are charged wirelessly, which makes the daily walk to the charging unit quite comfortable. In the first Fossil smartwatches, the watch was added to a charging pillow. The current models have a charging cable with a magnetic end, which is placed on the watch case for charging from behind.

The features of the display clock include activity tracking, music or camera control and above all the support of Android Wear 2.0. IPhone owners can also set and read the watch using their own app on their smartphone. Incidentally, the Q series has not installed a pulse sensor.

Hybrid smartwatches

The classic display smartwatch has two problems. One is the look: many watch wearers simply don't want a small smartphone on their wrists. The smartwatches stand out due to their appearance and that is not for everyone. The second important aspect is the short battery life. Charging your smartphone every night is annoying enough – you don't need a watch to charge every night.

But for these two problems, Fossil has an elegant solution with the hybrid smartwatch. The new variants are called Q Accomplice, Q Activist and Q Grant.

The clocks look like normal, analog clocks. You can only discover the dial and hands. A display? Nothing. In order to use the watch smartly, you need an app and a little brains. The user uses the app on the buttons on the watch and reads out the collected data.

An example assignment for the keys was a so-called user-defined destination. In the case, it was about wanting to drink a certain amount of water a day. With each drink, the user presses the previously defined key and the clock counts. The pointers show us the previous result directly. Immediately after triggering, the hands begin to turn and stop suddenly. A small scale on the dial shows what percentage of the defined goal has already been reached. The display is logical and easy to understand.

The hybrid watches also display news. Of course not the message itself, but the clock tells who sent my predefined contacts an SMS. It vibrates briefly and points to a number with the pointer. This number represents a previously defined contact. A quick glance at the clock is enough and you know who just called or wrote. And that without a striking display smartwatch or a direct view of the smartphone. When visiting a restaurant or at work, this is definitely a very subtle and elegant solution.

According to Fossil, the battery of the hybrid watches lasts around six months with average use. This is a very good achievement for a really smart health watch. Because activity tracking, remote triggers, music control or user-defined objectives are fully usable. Unlike the display smartwatches that need to charge their batteries at night, even sleep tracking is possible.

The concept sounds a bit complicated at first and it certainly takes a few days to really have the functions and the saved contacts in your head. But then it's a really cool thing. A watch with the look and feel of a classic analog wristwatch paired with the most important features of a smartwatch. And without short battery life problems or a striking appearance.

The hybrid solution is currently largely unknown – but it is precisely this concept that we find particularly interesting. Ultimately, Fossil also reaches those buyers who would never have considered a smartwatch before.

We find the variety of the models offered really amazing and hope to be able to Review some of the new watches as soon as possible.

What do you think? Can a smart health watch really be smart?

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