Review on Silicone Touchscreen Smartwatch - Fossil Sport by Tim Rushing

The company that owns Fossil (and many other watch brands) has gone to great lengths to support Google's WearOS smartwatch operating system. Now they support WearOS for several generations. This is the fourth generation watch. There are several fifth-generation watches that don't differ much. Wear OS has changed moderately throughout the history of smartwatches. While Apple and Google announced their competing watch operating systems, both of which were a bit clunky and left plenty of room for improvement, Apple Watch OS currently leads the way when it comes to ergonomics. and presentation. The Google Wear OS, on the other hand, has improved a bit from its early days, but it still feels a bit clunky, clunky and slow. Granted, it works well in the Android ecosystem, and if you have an Android watch your only viable options are Samsung's WearOS or Tizen OS. I have several watches running both WearOS and Tizen and in my opinion neither is a clear winner in this competition - they are both fine and both are inferior to Apple OS. But Apple watches don't work with Android. However, Samsung has historically abandoned its software (OS) products, while Google still has a decent history of supporting and updating WearOS. Of course, we can't be sure what the future holds, especially now that Google has bought Fitbit. Good. The preamble is ready. So what about those special hours? Well, it works with the latest version of WearOS - with all the pluses and minuses. Like all Fossil smartwatches, it has three controls on the body: a crystal button and two additional (programmable) buttons. It comes with a modest set of dials (see attached photos), most of which are available with all Fossil watches. Setup is easy: turn on your watch, install the WearOS app on your phone, and answer a few questions. This takes about 5 minutes. Once that's done, you're good to go. This watch has a silicone strap which I find more comfortable than many silicone watch batteries. The watch itself is not that big - medium size. A lot of Fossil watches are very large (about the size of a Rollex), which I think is a little overbearing. I like the smaller size of this watch. The watch has a built-in heart rate monitor and automatically connects to the Google Fitness Tracker apps. You can download other third-party fitness apps if you like. A nice feature of these watches is that they have built-in GPS. This allows you to use the GPS function even when you don't have your phone with you (e.g. when jogging). However, it doesn't support a SIM card, so you'll need to download your home map info before you go if you want to use maps. It has a microphone (and can be activated with OK Google if you turn it on) but no speaker. It also has NFC so you can use it for Google Pay when you use it. Battery life is so-so, which is par for the course for these WearOS watches. You can work a full day on a single charge, but you DEFINITELY need to charge every night. Whatever they claim in PR is reality. I agree. It uses a patented charging disc that attaches magnetically to the back of the watch (see photo). It works well, but it's a bit annoying because if you lose it or want two charges (like one at home and one in your travel suitcase), you'll have to pay $20-30 for one. So life is. Overall, I'd say this watch is as good as any modern WearOS watch in terms of functionality and battery life, but it's more comfortable and less obtrusive. (They are sold as a men's watch but I imagine they will fit many women as well). The heart rate monitor, GPS and NFC of this watch are the icing on the cake. Fossil recently dropped the pass-through price for this watch at many outlets, and if you can get it at the new reduced price it's an attractive buy if you're looking for a sporty smartwatch.