Fossil Gen 5 review
I was never acquainted with a smartwatch before I got hold of the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch. I had never felt the need to own or use one earlier. The wearable market might not be as hot as it could have been (it is expected to be though), the idea of owning one intrigues many. For an amateur like me in the smartwatch world, using it and reviewing was a different experience altogether, and that’s exactly what I am going to share with you.
I got an opportunity to use the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch and this is what I think of it and smartwatches in totality. Read on to know about it.
Fossil Gen 5 Review: Design and Display
I reviewed the grey stainless steel colour of the Gen 5 and the very first word that occurred to me was ‘sweet!’ The form factor and the build quality was more than decent -- something I can expect from a brand like Fossil. As a child, I had wished to own a Fossil watch at least once and with the Gen 5, I know I am going to be sticking to the watch brand. Additionally, Gen 5 comes in various design options, so you can go for whichever you like.
Fossil Gen 5 design
The watch had unisexual feel and not even once did I feel it belonged to a man’s hands. Wearing it every day and using it was a delight and the watch is quite comfortable even in long hours. The watch dial is 44mm in size and proved to be just apt on my wrist. Fossil clubbed style with the features of a smartwatch and without a fail, the watch can be worn on casual as well as formal occasions. All the designs of the Fossil Gen 5 are intriguing enough.
Fossil Gen 5 review
For me, the smartwatch scores well in the design department and it tells you openly that smartwatches ought to be good-looking too.
Fossil Gen 5 design
As for the display, it is based on an AMOLED display panel and was decent enough. The Always-on display feature worked fine too. However, the sunlight legibility wasn’t that great as I couldn’t use the watch with convenience in sunlight.
Fossil Gen 5 design
Other than that, the brightness levels, along with the touch panel was above average.
Fossil Gen 5 Review: Specifications and Features
The Fossil Gen 5 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor, coupled with 1GB of RAM. It comes equipped with 8GB of internal storage and runs Google’s WearOS. The smartwatch is compatible with both Android (version 6.0 and above) and iOS (version 10 and above).
Fossil Gen 5 review
The smartwatch has a battery life of 24 hours and comes with sensors such as heart rate, gyroscope, microphone, accelerometer, altimeter, and ambient light. On the connectivity front, it supports Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, and magnetic USB charger.
Talking about the features, the Gen 5 supports heart rate monitoring, fitness tracking, notification alerts, music controls, making payments via Google Pay, and using Google Assistant.
Fossil Gen 5 Review: Performance and Battery
As it was my first-time experience, it took me a while to get a hang of a smartwatch. Setting it up was pretty convenient. All I needed to do was install the WearOS app on my smartphone (I used it with an iPhone), added the Fossil Gen 5 to the app, connected it with my phone, and it just got done. A few minutes into this and you get yourself a good smartwatch experience.
Fossil Gen 5 review
I wore the Gen 5 almost every day and notifications on my wrist was a new experience altogether. Notifications from all the apps I use (WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and even calls) popped up well, except in some cases the notification on my watch appeared later than my smartphone. Google Assistant worked well too.
Fossil Gen 5 dial
While I am not a fitness freak, I mainly used the Gen 5 to record my heart rate and track my steps. For both tasks, the smartwatch did a fairly decent job. While the steps, the distance covered, the calories burnt -- all were recorded with ease, it took the watch a while to grasp real-time information.
Fossil Gen 5 review
As for the battery, it maintains its claim of being able to work its way through the day. While initially, it lasted me more than a day, the battery life decreased to a single day. This was surprising, but being able to last a day is still good enough. Among others, the charging time was decent and the watch charged fully in an hour. Furthermore, the watch-face variety was good too and my favourite was the moving dog watch face.
Fossil Gen 5 Review: Verdict
The Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch, priced at Rs. 22, 995, was my initial step into the world of smartwatches and I don’t think I am going back anytime soon. The watch could carry a lot of tasks with ease and gave a decent display experience. However, it has one drawback and that is its price. With affordable smartwatches such as the Honor Magic Watch 2 and the Huami Amazfit series, the Fossil Gen 5 seems pricey and I wish it was generously priced.
Fossil Gen 5 review
Having said that, if you can shell out money, the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch is the one with more perks than cons.
