Fossil just debuted what it’s calling its most colorful smartwatch ever – and it might be its most powerful, too.
The watchmaker on Thursday unveiled the Fossil Sport, a $255 smartwatch that comes in six colors and has two standout internal features: the new Wear OS, Google’s new smartwatch operating system; and the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip, which should give the watch better battery life and new abilities.
Fossil says the new watch is aimed at a “design-conscious consumer,” which is why the company opted for so many colors. Typically, smartwatches only come in two or three options, but the Fossil sport will come in silver, gold, dark gray, red, blue, and pink.
More varied color options, and more brightly colored options at that, seems to be a trend this fall: in September, Apple introduced the iPhone XR, which comes in six bright colors.
"We know our consumers want versatility both in their activity and their accessories, which is why we wanted to bring a smartwatch to market that is a fit for every style," Steve Evans, executive vice president of Fossil Group, said in a press release about the new watch.
The Fossil Sport will also come in two case sizes, 41 mm and 43 mm, which are roughly the same sizes as an Apple Watch Series 4 (though, clearly, a different shape).
A new and improved chip
The Fossil Sport is among the first smartwatches to contain the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip from Qualcomm.
The new chip should make a major difference in battery life, which has been one of the main issues holding smartwatches back. For its part, Fossil says the Sport watch should get 24 hours of battery life, plus an additional two days in battery saver mode, which is a feature of the new chip.
The new chip should also provide a few other nice features, like an enhanced "ambient mode" and some better watch faces, although Fossil hasn't given much more detail than that.
Beyond the new chip, the Fossil Sport will come preloaded with the updated Wear OS, Google's smartwatch operating system. The new OS has a better shortcuts menu, better-looking and easier to read notifications, improved gestures, Google Assistant built in, and a totally redesigned Google Fit app.
Here are some additional specs of the Fossil Sport:
- Wireless charging
- The ability to pair Bluetooth headphones
- Built-in sensors including heart rate, NFC, GPS, altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light, and microphone
- Touchscreen display
- Compatible with iOS and Android
- Interchangeable watch bands
The Fossil Sport will start at $255 and will be available to order on Thursday, arriving in stores on November 12. Customers in New York City will be able to check it out for themselves at a pop-up store at 138 Wooster Street from November 9-11.
But if you want to get a closer look at the watch before then, here are all the colors it comes in, along with a few of the many strap options:
