Fossil Gen 5 LTE review: Wear OS is still not good enough
Our Verdict
The Fossil Gen 5 LTE looks not bad and lets you leave abode without your phone, merely you lot'll pay for it with your wallet and with Habiliment OS'south faults.
For
- Big, legible brandish
- Google Fit is improving
- Good battery management tools
Confronting
- Expensive
- Article of clothing OS nonetheless need work
- Not swim-proof
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Fossil Gen 5 LTE looks dandy and lets you exit home without your telephone, but you'll pay for it with your wallet and with Wearable Os's faults.
Pros
- +
Large, legible display
- +
Google Fit is improving
- +
Good battery management tools
Cons
- -
Expensive
- -
Clothing OS still need piece of work
- -
Not swim-proof
Fossil Gen 5 LTE: Specs
Price: $349
Colors: Black, chroma
Size: 45mm
Brandish: ane.28 inch AMOLED
Battery life: 24 hours
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100
Memory: 1GB RAM, 8GB storage
Water resistance: iii ATM
Supported carrier: Verizon
What's a company to practice when updating a smartwatch? For Fossil, the answer could've been fitness-related, turning the mode-first article of clothing into a more than formidable Fitbit rival. The company could take swapped Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip for the newer Snapdragon Wear 4100, besides. Just instead it added LTE in a time when many people are staying home.
Equally Fossil's get-go smartwatch with independent cellular capabilities, the Fossil Gen 5 LTE Touchscreen Smartwatch ($349) is an iteration of the 2-year-erstwhile Fossil Gen 5 that lets Android users with Verizon cellular plans free their wearable from their smartphone. For those who are out and about these days, this version of Wear OS's most relevant smartwatch tin have calls, ship messages and use apps fifty-fifty when their handset is MIA.
The all-time smartwatches, like the Apple Lookout man Serial 6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch iii, have offered LTE options for several generations now. So even if this Fossil Gen 5 LTE is a niggling tardily to the party, information technology's worth figuring out whether its new feature is really a welcome guest or only an attempt to distract united states of america from Wear OS'southward ongoing deficiencies.
Fossil Gen 5 LTE: Price and availability
The Fossil Gen v LTE costs $349 for both the Black or Blush models. That's about $50 more than than the Gen 5's original price of $295. Now you tin become the non-LTE version of $199, though, making it ane of the all-time inexpensive smartwatches. The non-LTE version offers a greater variety of styles and colors too.
And when you get the LTE version, y'all'll need to prepare for additional fees. With a Verizon Unlimited programme, it costs $x per calendar month (the same as Apple tree Watch and Galaxy Lookout) for LTE support. You'll also use Verizon's Number share service, meaning the number for your companion smartphone and your Fossil smartwatch will exist the same.
Fossil Gen 5 LTE review: Blueprint
Fossil creates cute wristwatches, both smart and non. Keeping with the brand's design sensibilities, the circular, 44-millimeter Fossil Gen five LTE features sleek, stainless-steel bezels and a familiar three-button array.
It'south still oversized on small-scale wrists, specially when worn alongside the petite Garmin Lily, just the do good is a large and legible display.
The silicone straps of the model I tested are more than conducive to working out than, say, the optional leather or steel mesh ones you tin interchange. But I was cautious nigh exposing the Fossil Gen 5 LTE to excessive sweat or other elements: It'south rated 3ATM for water resistance, whereas virtually smartwatches made for activity are rated 5ATM. 5ATM means the smartwatch tin can withstand swimming workouts in shallow waters. 3ATM means the smartwatch is only splashproof, so have it off before taking a shower.
For some, that'due south suitable. Dissimilar the lightweight Fossil Sport, which is fabricated for motility, the Fossil Gen 5 LTE feels more than lifestyle focused. It'southward less for the runner who wants to stream music or pay for a coffee and more for the professional who needs to be reachable or connected at all times.
Fossil Gen v LTE review: Going telephone-free
For this review, Fossil sent me an LG Stylo v — far from 1 of the best phones, but a phone that's set for Verizon Number Share. After I paired the Fossil Gen 5 LTE to the WearOS app on the Stylo, it was ready to operate solo. That meant I could leave the phone backside when I went for walks, to the grocery store and some other errands. It's one of the few LTE-capable WearOS smartwatches; if you want something much more luxe, check out our Montblanc Summit two+ hands-on.
Since the number wasn't tied to my personal contacts or messages, I didn't receive many notifications besides Gmail. I did, however, make a few calls from the temporary number. According to the receiver, my voice sounded clear on the other end, only more distant compared to when I called on my Apple Sentry with cellular.
If you lot have the older Gen v, you can make calls and send texts from your wrist as long as your smartphone is nearby. Both versions offer on-board GPS, and so, once more, the key benefit you're getting from the LTE version is the ability to ditch your phone for a while.
Maybe if I were going out more than regularly I'd reap more of the benefits of an LTE smartwatch, just I couldn't appreciate the freedom as much as I would've liked. I'm sure I'm non the only one in this position these days.
Fossil Gen 5 LTE review: Clothing OS
Wearable OS gets a bad rap, and I can't say information technology's non deserved. I recently wrote about how the Google Assistant voice detection characteristic hasn't worked for months, and not many people noticed. Including me — when I tested the best Google Assistant commands from my wrist, I manually activated it through the Fossil Gen v's tile-based menus.
The menus still lack the app variety and sophistication of Samsung's Tizen Os and Apple tree'south watchOS. Even the Fitbit Versa three'due south interface, which I thought seemed irksome during testing, felt more responsive than the Fossil Gen 5. The Snapdragon Wear 4100-packed TicWatch Pro 3 offers a significantly improved Vesture OS integration, making me wish Fossil upgraded the Gen 5 LTE'south chipset, especially for the price.
Ane thing that's getting amend almost Habiliment OS is Google Fit. Wellness services are more competitive than ever these days, and while Google hasn't gone as far to launch an Apple tree Fitness Plus rival, information technology has expanded the data yous see in your Google Fit profile. It launched a camera-based respiratory rate reader for Pixel telephone users before this year. When I tracked an outdoor walk, I establish my pace count and centre rate matched my Apple Sentinel's measurements. Apple, Samsung and Fitbit all track more workout types, though.
It'south important to note that while Wear OS does work on both Android and iOS, you lot'll need an Android to apply the LTE capabilities of the Fossil Gen five. You'll also desire to know that the Fossil Gen 5 LTE doesn't transport with the latest software update, and then you won't get features now found on the regular Fossil Gen 5 similar native sleep tracking or Fossil's new wellness app. You lot'll still get Article of clothing Bone apps similar Pandora, Nike+ Run Club, Spotify and Google's entire suite of programs, of course.
Fossil Gen 5 LTE review: Battery Life
Like the regular Fossil Gen 5, the Fossil Gen 5 LTE has a number of battery management tools that lets you lot make up one's mind how long you lot want your smartwatch to concluding. Forever isn't an choice, but based on how y'all use the watch you'll experience different staminas.
You lot can choose from Daily, Custom, Extended and Time Only. Based on my experience Daily and Custom will become you somewhere between fourteen and 24 hours, which is a little short by smartwatch standards. Extended grows that window to a few days (at the expense of most features) while Time Only turns the Fossil Gen 5 LTE into a normal-looking wristwatch.
No affair how I utilise it, my Apple Watch Series 6 lasts just around 24 hours. Although the consistency is conducive to a charging schedule, it would be nice if using less features rewarded me with longer battery life similar it does with the Fossil Gen 5.
Fossil Gen 5 LTE review: Verdict
As the first Wear OS smartwatch with cellular support in the U.S., the Fossil Gen 5 LTE had big shoes to fill. Fossil nonetheless makes some of the best wearables in terms of both functionality and style, and now customers accept an LTE pick.
Only should they take it? I wish Fossil introduced more tangible upgrades for the Gen 5 LTE, especially for the price. Since the standard Gen 5 now costs $199, the company is asking for an additional $150 for LTE support. That's pricer than Apple'southward premium for Cellular — for a watch with an aging chipset, yet. If y'all're looking for an affordable LTE lookout, the Apple tree Watch SE with Cellular starts at $329. Y'all'll demand an iPhone though.
For Android users, your best bet is still the Samsung Milky way Watch 3 with LTE. If you're loyal to Vesture OS, you lot might become lucky: There's a rumor that Samsung's watches are switching over from Tizen. But Wear Bone needs a lot of work before then.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/fossil-gen-5-lte
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