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This stylish and feature-packed Wear OS smartwatch is insanely cheap right now

May 19, 2021, 3:26 PM

Adrian Diaconescu

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This stylish and feature-packed Wear OS smartwatch is insanely cheap right now

Update: Looking for current smartwatch deals? It's not too late! Check out the Best Amazon Prime 2021 Day Smartwatch Deals!

For the first time in a long time, there's actually a decent amount of (positive) buzz around Wear OS, the software platform formerly known as Android Wear that Google has been trying (and failing) to get off the ground since 2014.

Samsung's involvement in the revival of this largely unsuccessful watchOS rival creates the ideal scenario to remember that... not all existing Wear OS-powered devices from other brands are bad.

The 2019-released Fossil Gen 5, for instance, is still featured on our list of the best smartwatches available in 2021, and although it carries a different name, the slightly newer Skagen Falster 3 comes with pretty much the same specs and capabilities.

The two "Gen 5"-based intelligent timepieces also share a $295 list price, but due to their somewhat advanced age (and unpopular operating system), it's not exactly difficult to find select models at substantial discounts if you look hard enough.

That being said, it's certainly unusual to see the Android and iOS-compatible Falster 3 cost a whopping 177 bucks less than usual, so you may want to hurry and take advantage of this absolutely outstanding Amazon deal before it inevitably goes away.

$177 equates to an incredibly deep 60 percent price cut, bringing this undeniably stylish and feature-packed smartwatch below the likes of Samsung's original fitness-centric Galaxy Watch Active, not to mention the "inexpensive" Apple Watch SE.

Unlike its direct sub-$150 rivals, the Fossil-made Skagen Falster 3 covers essentially all the lifestyle and health monitoring bases, including everything from standalone GPS connectivity to NFC support for wrist payments, heart rate and general activity tracking, a built-in speaker for talking on the phone straight from your wrist (with an actual phone nearby), top-notch water resistance, Google Assistant and Play Store support, and multi-day modes for maximizing your battery life.

That's a lot of cool hardware and software stuff for your money, although you should note the black leather version is the only one marked down by $177 at the time of this writing and we also have no idea how many major OS updates you should expect after Google and Samsung's Wear OS and Tizen combination announcement.