Fossil today announced its latest smartwatch, the Gen 5, which will let users make calls from the watch itself when connected to an iPhone (via The Verge). This has been possible with Android smartphones previously, but as of yet ‌iPhone‌ users who own a Fossil smartwatch have only been able to receive alerts about an incoming call.

fossil gen 5
Now, the Gen 5 will act similarly to the Apple Watch, and users will be able to talk into the smartwatch's speaker to make phone calls. The new smartwatch is launching today, but this feature for iPhones won't launch until sometime in the fall. As a note, it was confirmed that the Gen 5 watch still doesn't support Apple iMessages.

According to a Fossil spokesperson, “No action is required from your iPhone. The watch becomes another way to take your call via Bluetooth.”

Otherwise, the Gen 5 smartwatch has a longer battery life than the previous version, and can last for multiple days on a single charge. The device comes in six colors, all of which include a 1.28-inch AMOLED screen inside of a 44mm case that's 12mm thick.

It also has 8GB of storage, 1GB RAM, NFC, a heart rate sensor, GPS, and a speaker. Fossil said that the watch is waterproof up to 30 meters deep. The smartwatch runs on Google's Wear OS platform, and supports Google features like Google Fit, Google Pay, and the Google Assistant.

Fossil's Gen 5 smartwatch is available today starting at $295.

Tag: Fossil

Top Rated Comments

brinary001 Avatar
50 months ago
I remember walking into a fossil store a few years ago with an Apple Watch on. My friend was looking at the purses.

The sales person asked if I was interested in looking at watches and I showed my Apple Watch and said no thank you. But do you have any AW bands? They didn’t.

I’m guessing Fossil is going to lose its Watch business entirely. This is probably one of the last gasps of a major part of their business.
Why would you think they would carry their biggest competitor's merchandise? Likewise, would you also expect to go in to an Apple Store and see Fossil stuff..?

Relative to Apple customers, Fossil's watches won't seem that appealing because Apple only wants you to use THEIR watch, and they'll do everything they can to make sure customers have a much worse experience on non-Apple hardware. Android users on the other hand, are not so locked in to their host ecosystem (quite the opposite actually) and thus can really use this product to its full potential.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
50 months ago
You don't "talk into a speaker", you speak into a microphone. Speakers emit sound.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
50 months ago
To be honest, I didn’t know Fossil was even relevant in the smart watch sector anymore. (But I do like the round design they have.)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ds6778 Avatar
50 months ago
These watches are poorly made... People scoff at Apple prices for their watches but man, they're on another level with fit and finish.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
- rob - Avatar
50 months ago
I remember walking into a fossil store a few years ago with an Apple Watch on. My friend was looking at the purses.

The sales person asked if I was interested in looking at watches and I showed my Apple Watch and said no thank you. But do you have any AW bands? They didn’t.

I’m guessing Fossil is going to lose its Watch business entirely. This is probably one of the last gasps of a major part of their business.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timeconsumer Avatar
50 months ago
I was somewhat interested until I read this... “As a note, it was confirmed that the Gen 5 watch still doesn't support Apple iMessages.”
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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