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It was not all that long ago when Fossil introduced their first Gen 6 AndroidWear smart watches (covered here). All of the new capabilities they’ve put into their full-on smartwatches has now started to make it’s way to their hybrid lineup. Meet the new Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid.
What is a hybrid smartwatch? Basically, it has the look of a traditional watch (completed with a physical handset to indicate the time) with some sort of screen embedded into the dial so you can get notifications and the like. In the case of the two new Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid watches, this screen is e-ink, which is great for cutting down power consumption.
With the estimated two-week battery life of the Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid, I think this is a watch that will be interesting for those who are perhaps curious about what a smart watch can do for them, while not carrying around a brightly-lit screen on their wrist. What’s particularly great is that the watch embeds a heart rate and oxygen sensor, so you could still use the watch as a fitness companion (for GPS, you’ll need to rely on the connection to your phone).
For this release, Fossil has also updated the companion phone app, allowing you greater control over what you see on the homescreen of the app. Basically, check and monitor the things you’re most interested in, and let the other metrics be in the background. They’ve also redesigned how you can configure the screens on the watch as well. Finally, they’ve got Amazon Alexa built into the watch, so you can use the voice assistant to do things via your phone (say, home automation or setting reminders).
For this launch, the Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid is coming in two varieties. There’s the more-compact Stella (40.5mm) and the larger (and darker) Machine which comes in at 45mm. As you might surmise from the name, Fossil is aiming the Stella at women with 150 crystals set on the watch, and the industrial-looking Machine is aimed at the guys. Regardless of the style, they’ll run $229 (on leather or silicone straps) to $249 (on a bracelet). These will be available in just a few days, on June 27, directly from fossil.com
Features from Fossil
- Up To 2 Weeks Battery Life: Dependent on style and usage
- Unparalleled Design
- Easy-read mechanical hands and hour markers
- Glanceable notifications
- Personalize Your Style For Any Occasion
- Customizable dials
- Convertible straps
- New! Access Your Favorite Alexa Features: Must be within Bluetooth® range of phone
- New! SpO2 and Improved Heart Rate Sensor
- New! All-New Dashboard: Redesigned, intuitive display
- New! Fossil Smartwatches App: Introducing the improved companion app for your smartphone with more tech, more features and more to love
Tech Specs
- E-ink Gray-scale Display With Backlight
- Home Button, 2 Configurable Push Buttons Microphone, Vibration
- Bluetooth 5.0 LE, WiFi, Tethered GPS
- PPG Heart Rate, SpO2, Accelerometer, Off-body IR
- Water Resistant (Up to 3 ATM)
- Charge Time Approximately 60 minutes to 80%
- Machine
- Active Display Area: 27.9mm (218 ppi)
- Case Size: 45mm
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Thickness: 15.2mm
- Strap Compatibility: 24mm Straps and Bracelets
- Stella
- Active Display Area: 23.8mm (254 ppi)
- Case Size: 40.5mm
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Thickness: 14.7mm
- Strap Compatibility: 18mm Straps and Bracelets
