Smartwatches

Fossil Sport boasts Qualcomm's newest wearable chip and plenty of sensors

Fossil Sport boasts Qualcomm's newest wearable chip and plenty of sensors
The Fossil Sport comes with a choice of six colors and 28 straps
The Fossil Sport comes with a choice of six colors and 28 straps
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The Fossil Sport comes with a choice of six colors and 28 straps
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The Fossil Sport comes with a choice of six colors and 28 straps
The lighweight smartwatch is focused on fitness and activity
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The lighweight smartwatch is focused on fitness and activity
The Fossil Sport is one of the first wearables to feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100
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The Fossil Sport is one of the first wearables to feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100
The Fossil Sport retails for US$255 and is available to order now
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The Fossil Sport retails for US$255 and is available to order now
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The Fossil Sport is the latest smartwatch from Fossil, and as well as carrying an impressive number of onboard sensors, it also has the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip inside – the processor that is set to power the next generation of wearables running Google's Wear OS.

As the "Sport" name suggests, this is a lightweight, colorful smartwatch. You can pick from six main colors for the case, two case sizes (41 mm and 43 mm), and 28 different silicone straps, which should be enough possible combinations for everyone. Third-party 18 mm or 22 mm straps can be attached, too.

Fossil is heavily plugging the battery life as well. It says the watch will last 24 hours or more on a single charge, with up to two extra days between charges in the "battery saver" mode – while there are no specifics on that, but presumably it involves disabling notifications and the onboard sensors.

And Fossil has packed plenty of them into the Fossil Spot – heart rate monitoring, NFC, and GPS are all crammed into the wearable, so you can test your heart rate, make mobile payments, and track your morning run without a connected phone.

As for the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100, Google will be hoping it can generate some momentum in the Wear OS market. Watches powered by Google's wearable OS have been stuck using the Snapdragon Wear 2100 for several years now, which has meant no improvements in performance or battery life even as the Wear OS software has been getting upgrades.

The lighweight smartwatch is focused on fitness and activity
The lighweight smartwatch is focused on fitness and activity

The main upgrade the Wear 3100 brings with it is better power efficiency, which should translate to longer battery life. There's a co-processor on board to handle minor tasks, such as counting steps and running the always-on display, to take some of the pressure off the main processor. We'll have to wait and see how this translates into real world use with the Fossil Sport.

As is usual for Google-powered wearable devices now, the watch is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones, though Wear OS can get its hooks deeper into Android for more interactive notifications and seamless operation.

On the software side, recent updates to Wear OS include a more intuitive interface for Google Assistant on the wrist, as well as a redesign for Google Fit to simplify its fitness tracking features.

The Fossil Sport can be yours for US$255 and can be ordered on the Fossil website today. It ships and arrives in stores on November 12. You can check out the smartwatch in action in the promotional video below.

Product page: Fossil

Fossil Sport Smartwatch Ecomm 30 ENUS

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