Fossil unveils stylish new hybrid smartwatches with incredible battery life
The US-based Fossil Group is without a doubt Google's most prolific and valued Wear OS hardware partner, but in addition to full-fledged smartwatches powered by the search giant's struggling software platform, the fashion designer turned wearable device specialist has also been making so-called "hybrid" smartwatches for a number of years now.
The latest such products are simply and aptly named Fossil Hybrid HR, standing out from their forerunners with, you guessed it, a built-in heart rate monitor. But that's not all the Hybrid HR lineup has in common with the company's Gen 5 Wear OS smartwatch family, for instance. In fact, it's easier to list the things these cheaper devices cannot do rather than those they are capable of doing just like a pricier wrist-worn gadget.
Namely, you obviously can't find a speaker or a microphone on a Fossil Hybrid HR device, which also seems to lack GPS functionality and NFC support for Google Pay. Speaking of Google, it appears Wear OS is replaced with some sort of frugal in-house platform allowing the presumably small battery on a Hybrid HR to keep the lights on for "more than two weeks" (!!!) on a single charge with "all features activated."
Said features include everything from your standard set of activity tracking tools (steps, calories, active minutes, and so on) to all your important smartphone notifications in combination with either an iOS or Android handset. The Fossil Hybrid HR is also fully water-resistant up to 3 meters deep and capable of controlling your music, displaying multiple time zones, and charging rapidly... once every couple of weeks.
Speaking of displaying stuff, it's worth highlighting that the screen here is not particularly sharp, colorful, or large, staying however always on to show you the information that matters most alongside mechanical hands taking care of the pivotal feature of any watch. As such, Fossil claims this bad boy combines "the best of digital and analog smartwatches", starting at a fairly reasonable price of $195 in Charter and Collider styles for both ladies and gentlemen.
No wonder Google splashed the cash on some innovative Fossil-owned intellectual property that might have something to do precisely with this new line of hybrid smartwatches.
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