Fossil Quits the Smartwatch and Hybrid Watch Market
While Fossil smartwatches are not considered as popular as Samsung's Galaxy Watch counterparts, the company still has a recognizable presence within the Wear OS sphere. Fossil managed to introduce a few entries over the years, including the Gen 6 powered by Wear OS 3. It appears that this model will be the last after the company confirmed that it will cease its smartwatch business.
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According to a Fossil representative who spoke to The Verge, the company decided to stop manufacturing smartwatches altogether, including hybrid watch models. It highlighted the reason behind this move as being cognizant of an “evolving landscape”. Fossil is also said to focus and “redirect its resources” to its traditional watches and other products.
More importantly, Fossil will not abandon its existing users entirely. The company still plans to keep its smartwatch models supported via software updates and fixes. In other words, the Fossil Gen 6 should continue to receive updates and possibly new features as long as the company keeps the line running.
The support will also cover other Fossil smartwatch brands such as the Skagen Gen 6 in addition to Citizen, Diesel, and Michael Kors, among others.
Just last year, Fossil shipped a major Wear OS 3.5 update to Gen 6 smartwatches. The firmware introduced numerous features, minor UI changes, and helped improve the performance and battery life of these devices. However, the update also came with numerous bugs and issues.
With Fossil leaving the Android smartwatch market, there is one less manufacturer to offer Wear OS-powered wearables. We can currently count on Google with its Pixel Watch and Watch 2 (review), Samsung with its Galaxy Watch, and Mobvoi with the Ticwatch Pro 5 (review) as the remaining major players.
Have you used or owned a Fossil smartwatch recently? What are your thoughts on Fossil throwing in the towel? We'd like to hear your answers.
Via: The Verge
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