Wear OS is a beleaguered platform at best, but that doesn’t stop us wanting it to be better and hoping for better hardware for it to run on. The announcement of the Snapdragon 3100 Wear processor was heralded as the potential solution we had been waiting for, but alas on it’s own it wasn’t enough to create a responsive platform.
Then the Fossil Gen 5 was announced: in it a Snapdragon 3100 processor paired with 1GB of RAM, and we finally got a glimpse of the sort of performance Wear OS should have had all along. It’s not perfect, it still seems to be impaired, but the performance is now at a level where I can recommend Wear OS to normals and be confident it will be usable.
One of the things we love about Wear OS is the variety of hardware that supports, and Fossil is a major force in providing that variety though their range of sub-brands and partners. So with the Fossil Gen 5 platform out and proud, and each of Fossil’s brands releasing their new iteration, here is the full list of up to date Generation 5 Fossil-made Wear OS devices. There are small differences between some of these but the important specs remain the same across the line:
Snapdragon 3100 Wear processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal Storage, three button interface, digital crown, microphone and speaker (for Assistant and Calls), NFC for Google Pay, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Heart rate sensor and magnetic charging. All models include somewhere between 30 – 50 meters of water resistance and some include untethered GPS.
So here is the 2019 Fossil made Generation 5 platform devices release thus far.
Fossil
The Carlyle and Julianna are available in Australia starting at AUD$499.
Michael Kors
The Lexington 2 and Bradshaw 2 are available in Australia for between AUD$599 and AUD$649.
It’s worth noting that Michael Kors did release another Wear OS device at IFA this year, the fitness-focused MKGO, but it is not built on the top specced Gen 5 platform, so didn’t make the list.
Diesel
[Update1] The Diesel On Axial will be available in Australia for AUD$599 from Octobre/ November.
Armani
[Update 2] The Emporio Armani Smartwatch 3 will be available in Australia for AUD$649 with the exact launch date to be confirmed.
At present these are all the devices we are expecting to be launched at IFA if an earlier set of leaks via the FCC is to be believed. So, how does the Fossil Generation 5 Wear OS line up work for you? Is the Gen 5 platform enough to entice you to get a Wear OS device?
I used this at a demo booth, still too laggy and poor UI for this much money. Very well built though.
How is Wear OS still impaired?
My Gen 5 works perfectly.
How is Wear OS still impaired?
My Gen 5 works perfectly.