Fossil Gen 6 Wellness edition brings WearOS 3, last-gen tech
New software keeps pace with rivals, even if hardware hasn't changed all that much
Before the Google Pixel Watch arrived, the number of wearables with WearOS 3 wasn’t exactly extensive. Well, now you can add the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness edition to the list. It joins Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5, and the uber-pricey Montblanc Summit 3 in running the latest version of Google’s smartwatch software – but doesn’t bring much in the way of new hardware.
The 44mm watch has a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus CPU running the show, along with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. That keeps it in check with the rest of the Fossil Gen 6 range, which went on sale late last year. That means it misses out on the Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, with its promised performance and battery life gains, but should still last all day without needing to top up, and be responsive enough to run WearOS smoothly.
Elsewhere you’re looking at a 1.28in OLED display with always-on mode, set into a metal chassis with 3ATM water resistance. It’s a little sportier than other Gen 6 models, with a digital crown and two side buttons in a choice of colours.
WearOS 3 brings better support for third-party apps through the Google Play Store, along with an overhauled UI and tweaked navigation that’s closer to Google’s stock setup. Google Assistant doesn’t make the cut (seemingly a limitation of the Qualcomm hardware), but Amazon Alexa is available if you demand a wrist-mounted voice assistant.
On the fitness front, it’ll track heart rate, SpO2 and VO2 Max, as well as the usual step count and sleep monitoring. Workout detection is automatic, and the new Fossil Wellness app will sync everything to your phone – handy, seeing how FitBit integration remains exclusive to the Pixel Watch for now.
The Gen 6 Wellness Edition will go on sale in the US on the 17th of October, in Black, Silver and Rose Gold colours, with prices starting from $299 directly from the Fossil website. UK customers can expect to pay £279.
Existing Fossil Gen 6 owners will be able to get the WearOS 3 update at the same time, although they’ll need to factory reset their watch and set it back up using Fossil’s companion app. That’ll unlock most of the features seen in the Wellness edition, save a few bespoke watch faces.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor