Apple Watch too expensive? Then this is the smartwatch for you
Fossil's Gen 5 Smartwatch is the first Wear OS device that can take calls from a tethered iPhone.
Fossil has recently announced its Gen 5 Smartwatch which is the brand’s fifth-generation device of its type and for those who find the Apple Watch a bit too expensive, there is a really good reason for you to indulge in Fossil’s latest offering. This Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch is the first Wear OS device that can take calls from a tethered iPhone; which makes it a worthy challenger to the world’s most popular wearable. This means that instead of just alerting you when you’re getting a call, which other smartwatches can also do, this model allows you to answer it as well, from your wrist. With the Gen 5 Smartwatch, you now don’t need to pull out your iPhone to answer a call if you don’t want to.
With the Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch, there is a small catch, the smartwatch doesn’t come with iPhone tethering at launch; however, this functionality will be available as an OTA update as part of a proprietary app sometime in the near future. While the Apple Watch is able to answer calls from your iPhone and much more, the Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch still won’t be able to support apps like iMessage. This means that you won’t have the ability to reply back to messages from the Fossil option. Also, the Gen 5 won’t be able to work with iOS apps such as Apple’s Health app which means your fitness data won’t be stored. However, with the ability to answer calls from Gen 5, it may entice some iPhone users who want to make the shift to a marginally cheaper option and with more traditional watch design. The Apple Watch starts USD 349 while the Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch starts at USD 295.
The latest Gen 5 Smartwatch from Fossil is packed to the brim with new-age specs including a Snapdragon 31000 processor, up to 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. It also comes loaded with a swimproof speaker which means that it doesn’t require a mesh barrier like the Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatch to keep out water. Interestingly, it also comes with an extended battery mode which allows the Gen 5 to last several days on a single charge.