Fossil Men's GEN 5 + 5E Touchscreen Smartwatch with Speaker, Heart Rate, NFC, and Smartphone Notifications
Fossil has always been inspired by American creativity.
Since 1984, we’ve strived to bring life into the industry by making quality, fashionable watches & accessories that were both fun & accessible.
GEN 5 SMARTWATCH
Watch What You Can Do
Discover all of the unexpected things you can do right from your wrist.
GEN 5 – 44mm
FEATURES
Wear 3100 | Qualcomm Snapdragon | Wear 4100+ |
50 mn up to 80% | Charge time | 30 mn up to 80% |
VO2 Max | | |
| | Heart Rate | |
| | Activity Tracking | |
| | Google Pay TM | |
Approx 24+ hours | Battery Life | Approx 24+ hours |
Wear 3100 | Qualcomm Snapdragon | – |
50 mn up to 80% | Charge time | – |
VO2 Max | ||
| | Heart Rate | |
| | Activity Tracking | |
| | Google Pay TM | |
Approx 24+ hours | Battery Life | Approx 2+ weeks |
Wear 3100 | Qualcomm Snapdragon | Wear 3100 |
50 mn up to 80% | Charge time | 50 mn up to 80% |
VO2 Max | ||
| | Heart Rate | |
| | Activity Tracking | |
| | Google Pay TM | |
Approx 24+ hours | Battery Life | Approx 24+ hours |
Wear 3100 | Qualcomm Snapdragon | Wear 4100+ |
50 mn up to 80% | Charge time | 30 mn up to 80% |
VO2 Max | | |
| | Heart Rate | |
| | Activity Tracking | |
| | Google Pay TM | |
Approx 24+ hours | Battery Life | Approx 24+ hours |
- GEN 6 – 44mm
- HYBRID HR
- GEN 5 E- 42mm
- GEN 6 – 42mm
A great watch. I haven’t worn a watch in years and was worried that I would find it uncomfortable. Not so. I’ve had it for two weeks now and have adapted to wearing it quickly.
I’ve had no problem with the set up and after a couple of days of tinkering with the watch and my phone, have it set up nicely. The battery lasts most of the day and charges very quickly. So far I am very happy with this purchase.
Overall I am happy with the physical design and UI. However I am disappointed at how easily the glass scratches. I own several smartwatches and several analog Fossil watches and have had no issues with scratches but the glass on this scratched immediately and in a “non-stress” situation which was quite disappointing.
I’ve been a Fossil fan for some time.
My fitness tracker broke so thought I’d take the plunge into Wear O/S for the fossil style & Google apps especially fitness.
It was very easy to set up and link to my Samsung S20+ and notifications work well.
I just the Fossil app & Facer to customise.
Also simple. (In fact, I had to go to a specialist to adjust them bracelet! That was the most difficult part )
I bought an additional charger so I have one in my bag and one at home. Recommended until I get used to managing the power.
The tracking features seem to work well. I also paid for an app to synchronise data to/from Google Fit & Fitbit services.
I think this Fossil is excellent value for money and a good introduction to WearO/S.
UPDATE (12/2/2022): So, the watch has been updated to its latest software, and a bug has arisen with WearOS that appears to have come about in 2019. The weather feature shows temperature that is in the correct unit for the area you are in, F or C. Since this update, F is the only option that is available, and it is seemingly a bug that Google has neglected for 3 years. This isn’t the only product that Google has neglected and ignored customer reviews wanting fixes, and quite frankily, I have had enough of Google and Android.
The Fossil Men’s Gen 5e is a great watch that is well constructed out of stainless steel with a glass watch face. I do find that the watchstrap, brown leather, is very uncomfortable and it irritates my skin. It is not leather on both sides of the strap, the back has a thick rubber type material that would would find on non-smart fitness watches.
It is powered by a Snapdragon Wear 3100, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage. It runs smoothly with no stuttering or lag. It does have access to the Google Play Store, but keep in mind it is an incredibly stripped down version of it. When it comes to software, its operating system WearOS works perfectly.
My biggest problem is with Google Fit. On the watch, it works as expected. But the phone app, which is supposed to synchronize with the watch does not work properly. The reviews on the Play Store tell all, and I do not see Google doing anything about it anytime soon. I describe that view based on my own experience of other Google apps that have been left in a terrible state of buggy decay, people tell Google this in their reviews, and Google does nothing to address the problem. However, there are plenty other fitness apps forthe watch.
I find the battery life easily exceeds 24 hours (depending on how you use it) after a full charge that takes about 60 minutes. Please note, when I first tried to turn the watch on nothing happened. Connect the watch to the charging dock it comes with and it will turn on. The watch has a OLED display that is clear, vibrant, and bright (brightness will affect battery life), and this will help to make the battery last longer.
UPDATE (12/2/2022): So, the watch has been updated to its latest software, and a bug has arisen with WearOS that appears to have come about in 2019. The weather feature shows temperature that is in the correct unit for the area you are in, F or C. Since this update, F is the only option that is available, and it is seemingly a bug that Google has neglected for 3 years. This isn’t the only product that Google has neglected and ignored customer reviews wanting fixes, and quite frankily, I have had enough of Google and Android.
The Fossil Men’s Gen 5e is a great watch that is well constructed out of stainless steel with a glass watch face. I do find that the watchstrap, brown leather, is very uncomfortable and it irritates my skin. It is not leather on both sides of the strap, the back has a thick rubber type material that would would find on non-smart fitness watches.
It is powered by a Snapdragon Wear 3100, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage. It runs smoothly with no stuttering or lag. It does have access to the Google Play Store, but keep in mind it is an incredibly stripped down version of it. When it comes to software, its operating system WearOS works perfectly.
My biggest problem is with Google Fit. On the watch, it works as expected. But the phone app, which is supposed to synchronize with the watch does not work properly. The reviews on the Play Store tell all, and I do not see Google doing anything about it anytime soon. I describe that view based on my own experience of other Google apps that have been left in a terrible state of buggy decay, people tell Google this in their reviews, and Google does nothing to address the problem. However, there are plenty other fitness apps forthe watch.
I find the battery life easily exceeds 24 hours (depending on how you use it) after a full charge that takes about 60 minutes. Please note, when I first tried to turn the watch on nothing happened. Connect the watch to the charging dock it comes with and it will turn on. The watch has a OLED display that is clear, vibrant, and bright (brightness will affect battery life), and this will help to make the battery last longer.
Users OS software, doesn’t support what’s app and other notifications, had to pay to download another to get notifications. Blue tooth range is not great. Sometimes if disconnected it doesn’t connect automatically have to manually select the phone. Battery life is very poor, have to carry a charger. Charging twice daily.
Brilliant smart watch full of features and very easy to use. People complaining about the battery life is one of the flags on this and other wear os devices and can be rather worrisome when first turning it on. Out of the box and after charging, installation and syncing up the wear os app will spend the next day or 2 displaying some rather depressing remaining battery times. Don’t despair tho, ensure your apps on the watch are all updated and set up the watch how you want and after a couple of scary days the magic in the background will take effect and suddenly the app will tell you the true battery life getting just shy of 3 days with very minimal use and just over a day with heavy. The sleep tracking was rather strange when syncing to Google fit, everything else was tracked straight away with no issues but sleep data refused to play nice, a few interweb searches later and it kicked in same as the rest.
No inbuilt gps wasn’t a problem for me as having my phone constantly with me solves that non-issue. Picked this watch as although newer models are releasing with an updated wear os 3 this is still more than capable of doing the job at a reduced price for a couple of years while the bugs get worked out the newest lines ready for the next wave of devices in 2023 or 24. Everything works great the watch looks gorgeous in a classical round style instead of the cube that screams I’m a smart device. Recommended to all that don’t mind waiting a while for the next wave of superchips and advances as currently not enough difference between this 2021 series and 2022 to negate the saving in price, for all those that have money to burn and can’t wait then try the gen 6.
Fair enough i must say! Overall has some good features for this money actually, Google pay, Google apps, even speaker that you can choose to talk with someone instead of taking your phone out of your pocket..more then that you can call from the watch also, they can hear me pretty loud and clear outside where are noises around me…as the battery i must say its decent, holding you one day as a phone does just because of many features..so before you buy it think if you are willing to charge it like in the morning and in evening time once more, of course i use it in full mode, it has even battery saver and modes..you can adjust yo hold you more..but where is the fun then. As the notifications i can say that it does a great job..responding quick..with colors…really smooth. Watch faces you can find in Face app…aloot of them and there are some awesome designers you will be amazed..fancy ones on only 1.60 one. I say its decent watch for this money and worth to try.
Fair enough i must say! Overall has some good features for this money actually, Google pay, Google apps, even speaker that you can choose to talk with someone instead of taking your phone out of your pocket..more then that you can call from the watch also, they can hear me pretty loud and clear outside where are noises around me…as the battery i must say its decent, holding you one day as a phone does just because of many features..so before you buy it think if you are willing to charge it like in the morning and in evening time once more, of course i use it in full mode, it has even battery saver and modes..you can adjust yo hold you more..but where is the fun then. As the notifications i can say that it does a great job..responding quick..with colors…really smooth. Watch faces you can find in Face app…aloot of them and there are some awesome designers you will be amazed..fancy ones on only 1.60 one. I say its decent watch for this money and worth to try.
Nice and comfortable to wear but wish battery lasted longe
Battery doesn’t last a day before kicking into power saving mode.
I do really like the look and the features of this watch loads of watch faces and other apps timers, cardiogram and so on others can be downloaded, I bought this watch as I wanted a smart looking smart watch that could track my steps, count calories burnt and miles traveled I didn’t want my phone to be connected all the time needing all sort of info and permissions needed the app that tracks steps, counts calories and miles is a bit temperamental. Was very annoying today as I went for a 10 mile round trip walk to Richmond and it didn’t count/track anything google maps thankfully track my walk.
UPDATE : I updated all the apps over WiFi and that seem to of fixed the none tracking/counting of my steps. I’ll give the watch an extra 2 stars.
I loved thit item, such a great price too. The only let down is the battery life, it has to be charged every day but does only take about 40 minutes for a full charge.
Fun to use but a pain having to charge daily so not very practical for me. Has some good features but don’t wear overnight as that is when it gets charged.
Ticks the boxes for what I wanted, still learning as it’s my fist smart watch
It’s a lovely looking watch. It’s great you can answer and make calls and send and receive texts. The only downside is it needs charging everyday. Would be incredible if the battery lasted a little longer.
The watch itself is well made, and pretty intuitive. The face is a decent size, and even though I have small wrists it doesn’t appear too large in my arm.
Downloading the app to your phone and pairing it is easy enough, and the set-up works pretty well. There’s a Fossil app available via App Store, but it’s unnecessary and doesn’t seem to work with this phone, so everything works through Google’s Wear OS.
One observation is that the apps that send notifications to your watch grow organically. I couldn’t add Facebook, etc from the app initially, but as notifications came to my phone and ‘found’ my watch, so I was then able to control the app, disable notifications from irrelevant apps (for example, it sent me notifications for Photos, etc). It’s an unusual set-up, but you quickly get used to it.
Really happy with it. Previously had an early generation Apple Watch, and whilst I’m an iPhone user and so Apple’s equivalent should be my go-to, I’m really happy with this device.
Battery life is bad.. if you put all the functions on it less then than half day…. I’m getting on with it now I have got about a day and a bit. Own settings. The app is garbage you can’t seen any of the sleeping details, or Hart rate or anything. Mainly can change the watch faces… Good with the messages Bluetooth are very fast…. And I like the look of it. Some change on the app will be help to make it better
Sorry for the bed review but I want to be honest.
It very good for your health and see your heart rate and other apps on phone.
One of the best “smart” watches on the market for its price
First off, I like it. It looks great, connects simply to the Wear OS app, and Google Pay is easy to set up.
Now, I’ve changed to this from an Apple Watch SE, as I’ve changed to an Android device, and I use a Garmin Solar Instinct for fitness training. I have pretty high expectations.
Simply, it’s not as intuitive as the Apple Watch, but it’s a third of the price. The battery is also on the low side, and if I’m heading out in the evening I will charge it again (which takes about an hour).
Activity tracking is clearly not as good as a Garmin, but again that’s not what this is for. It works fine as a step tracker using Google Fit, but I wouldn’t rely on it for any serious metrics.
So, to summarise, if you have an iPhone you’re better off with an Apple Watch, but this will do if money is tight. If you’re looking for an activity tracker, look elsewhere (I recommend Garmin).
If what you’re looking for is a nice looking smart watch, which shows notifications then this will do nicely.
First off, I like it. It looks great, connects simply to the Wear OS app, and Google Pay is easy to set up.
Now, I’ve changed to this from an Apple Watch SE, as I’ve changed to an Android device, and I use a Garmin Solar Instinct for fitness training. I have pretty high expectations.
Simply, it’s not as intuitive as the Apple Watch, but it’s a third of the price. The battery is also on the low side, and if I’m heading out in the evening I will charge it again (which takes about an hour).
Activity tracking is clearly not as good as a Garmin, but again that’s not what this is for. It works fine as a step tracker using Google Fit, but I wouldn’t rely on it for any serious metrics.
So, to summarise, if you have an iPhone you’re better off with an Apple Watch, but this will do if money is tight. If you’re looking for an activity tracker, look elsewhere (I recommend Garmin).
If what you’re looking for is a nice looking smart watch, which shows notifications then this will do nicely.
battery life is not very good but I love the watch
good for me as i walk all-day every day [its my job to] very good
First I have to say that yes the other reviews are right, you really will have to charge this daily, but that’s if, like me, you have Bluetooth and NFC and the speaker on all the time and have google fit or cardiogram regularly monitoring your heart rate (if you use google fit to track your heart rate it can sync to cardiogram, so you don’t need to use both, which is useful to know if you want to save your battery although google doesn’t let you set how often it checks heart rate whereas cardiogram does).
The watch looks good, the user interface is easy to use, and you can program the top and bottom buttons to open whatever apps you want, very handy iif you want to pay contactless in shops as you can just push a button to open google pay and tap your watch against the shops card reader to pay for things.
Sleep tracking is pretty good. It tracks your sleep automatically although for more information you can also install the sleep as android app which will then show your sleep chart, as the watch itself can, but also with heart rate readings synced up so you can see more detailed information.
Having to charge the watch daily isn’t as annoying as I expected it to be as I do the same with my phone anyway so I either charge it fully overnight or, if I want to do sleep tracking, I just charge up in the morning quickly before work (it doesn’t take long to charge).
GPS will eat the battery life though, it used about twenry five to thirty percent battery tracking a 22 mile bike ride with google fit and monitoring my heart rate at the same time so I usually leave that and WiFi off.
It’s well made, easy to use, regular heart rate monitoring and NFC use doesn’t (surprisingly) use a lot of battery and its a nice bright easy to see display.
So yes battery life absolutely sucks but, the watch itself is worth sticking with. You can improve battery life a lot by switching off watch notifications for any phone apps you aren’t interested in.
In the attached photo the watch has a case on it, so may look slightly different to other peoples
fossil gen 5 watches.
A very good full featured watch slightly let down by having to charge it daily.
First I have to say that yes the other reviews are right, you really will have to charge this daily, but that’s if, like me, you have Bluetooth and NFC and the speaker on all the time and have google fit or cardiogram regularly monitoring your heart rate (if you use google fit to track your heart rate it can sync to cardiogram, so you don’t need to use both, which is useful to know if you want to save your battery although google doesn’t let you set how often it checks heart rate whereas cardiogram does).
The watch looks good, the user interface is easy to use, and you can program the top and bottom buttons to open whatever apps you want, very handy iif you want to pay contactless in shops as you can just push a button to open google pay and tap your watch against the shops card reader to pay for things.
Sleep tracking is pretty good. It tracks your sleep automatically although for more information you can also install the sleep as android app which will then show your sleep chart, as the watch itself can, but also with heart rate readings synced up so you can see more detailed information.
Having to charge the watch daily isn’t as annoying as I expected it to be as I do the same with my phone anyway so I either charge it fully overnight or, if I want to do sleep tracking, I just charge up in the morning quickly before work (it doesn’t take long to charge).
GPS will eat the battery life though, it used about twenry five to thirty percent battery tracking a 22 mile bike ride with google fit and monitoring my heart rate at the same time so I usually leave that and WiFi off.
It’s well made, easy to use, regular heart rate monitoring and NFC use doesn’t (surprisingly) use a lot of battery and its a nice bright easy to see display.
So yes battery life absolutely sucks but, the watch itself is worth sticking with. You can improve battery life a lot by switching off watch notifications for any phone apps you aren’t interested in.
In the attached photo the watch has a case on it, so may look slightly different to other peoples
fossil gen 5 watches.
Watch itself looks good and functions fine with my iPhone. Read a few mixed reviews. Even the iMessage notifications. You can’t reply but I don’t use the watch for that anyway.
Not as good functionality as an Apple Watch but I much prefer the style. If Apple do a round face I will be switching back
Battery is rubbish very disappointed thought it’ll be good for the price I paid fo
I bought this for the other half for his birthday, he loves it! Great look, great quality, great performance. Yes the battery can get chewed up if using too much on the watch but it charges in no time at all. Great little watch, I highly recommend it.
Product is very good and the options for brown strap is great too.
It’s an aesthetically pleasing looking watch. It’s smooth and fast and has pretty much the updated features of wear os. But battery life is on the short side especially if you have AOD and constantly using it for tracking. But for everything else, it’s a thumbs up
Love the watch and features bit had it 7 months and my charge now only last 8 hours
So, out of the box, Daily mode for the battery is rubbihs and you wont get a whole day.
Set up your custom battery settings and this thing becomes perfect.
I now get 2 days of battery power with all the features i want in use.
Notifictaions
Payments
Activity tracking etc etc
Its a comfortable watch tthats easy to wear all day and the low profile compared to my last watch means I catch it on less things.
Bought for my husband and he has now ditched his Apple Watch and prefers this
Battery life could be better but overall a very competent and classy smartwatch. Easily changeable 22mm watchstraps allow for personalisatio
The battery is decent, it runs smooth and a good range of customatizion, good price.
Had ro upgrade my.moto 360 1st gen as it officially gave up the ghost. Read the reviews and the Fossil SE scored very well. A definite step up in performance from my 360 but sadly the battery life is still pretty poor even with the saving options enabled. If you can overlook the battery then this is a great watch, solid build quality, wealth of fitness options, Google play and a great screen add up to a worthwhile purchase. Would recommend
It’s my first smart watch and I’ve been impressed so far with everything.
I’d give it a solid 4/5 only taking a point off for lack of Spotify offline storage as I thought this was a feature it had built in. It being Android though you can install apps so I was able to sideload Spotify MOL which allows you to store Spotify songs.
Other than that though it’s been great, battery life lasts a full day with charge to spare even after GPS tracking a run and playing music on Bluetooth while running. It charges up again pretty fast too if you ever are stuck for juice.
I have fairly small wrists and I was worried it would look huge on me but it’s actually pretty neat in form factor too.
All in all it does exactly what I wanted from a smart watch. I can track a run, play Spotify offline (after sideloading) and connect to my headphones all without taking my phone anywhere. Would recommend to anyone in the same boat!
great quality watch, feels solid and its very quick, battery life last about 10 to 18 hours depending on use
Nice watch that works well, battery life is suspect against other smart watches I have,I struggle to get much more than 1 day even with features disabled.
Lost 1 star as delivery was shocking and I am surprised I have the watch, but the device itself has an accurate description and works well
This is a stylish watch with a lot of smart features. Find myself using Google fit and Google pay a lot. Great choice of watch faces too. I’m happy with the battery life and can comfortably get a day from a charge after a few tweaks. I found the background heart rate monitoring sucked power from the battery so just turned it off and do a heart rate check when I need to. Not used sleep tracking so can’t comment on that.
The watch looks really nice fits perfectly and has a lot of functions pre installed or ready to be installed. You can connect Bluetooth earphones to the watch and listen to music straight from the device with Spotify Premium and other music apps on the watch. All round great watch
Battery doesn’t last that long. Charging it up daily. But a good watch otherwise.
It is just a very good watch, Wear OS works wonders with my Galaxy S7, the only thing I could wish for is bigger battery, because daily use in “Daily” mode lasts up to 16ish hours.
This watch is awesome. It takes a couple. Of days for the updates to work through then the battery kind of starts to last the 2 days and with the ability to turn of WiFi, nfc etc.. It can easily last more. Wear os has been much improved and and the watch looks great to boot.
I read some reviews of it before I bought it and it was between this and a Huawei watch.
I went with this as I liked the look of it a little more and it was also reduced so it was the same price as the Huawei.
Looking at some of the reviews, people’s biggest issue with this watch is the battery life.
If you have every single feature turned on it will run down the battery very quickly but you can change the settings to extend the battery life.
I use the activity tracker all the time, I have it so the media controls show up when i’m using spotify, connected to my phone between 7AM and 10PM (which you can adjust depending on your needs) and i’ve also used it to check messages and it shows up the navigation from google maps which is handy on the motorbike.
It’ll use about 7%-10% of the battery if you leave it idle overnight.
From 5% battery it takes about an hour and a half to charge.
After being out all day with the functions I mentioned above turned on from full the battery only went down to about 40% when I got home and I left it until the following day to recharge.
It also has a time only mode so you can use it as a normal watch.
In terms of general use, it’s very easy to navigate the menus.
There’s lots of different watch faces to choose from and you can get more.
This has a much larger internal memory than the Huawei so you can download a few extra apps to make it more useful for your needs if you need to.
It’s a little bigger than I was expecting but once you’re used to it you don’t notice it.
My only real gripe is the strap, I ordered this model specifically because it had a leather strap and it does but it’s backed with silicone…it did say this in the description but alas I didn’t see that.
It’s not an issue as I was going to order another strap anyway but just thought i’d mention it as it made my wrist sweat a lot and irritated my skin a bit.
Other than that i’ve had no issues with it and considering i’ve not worn a watch for about 20 years I barely notice it now.
I read some reviews of it before I bought it and it was between this and a Huawei watch.
I went with this as I liked the look of it a little more and it was also reduced so it was the same price as the Huawei.
Looking at some of the reviews, people’s biggest issue with this watch is the battery life.
If you have every single feature turned on it will run down the battery very quickly but you can change the settings to extend the battery life.
I use the activity tracker all the time, I have it so the media controls show up when i’m using spotify, connected to my phone between 7AM and 10PM (which you can adjust depending on your needs) and i’ve also used it to check messages and it shows up the navigation from google maps which is handy on the motorbike.
It’ll use about 7%-10% of the battery if you leave it idle overnight.
From 5% battery it takes about an hour and a half to charge.
After being out all day with the functions I mentioned above turned on from full the battery only went down to about 40% when I got home and I left it until the following day to recharge.
It also has a time only mode so you can use it as a normal watch.
In terms of general use, it’s very easy to navigate the menus.
There’s lots of different watch faces to choose from and you can get more.
This has a much larger internal memory than the Huawei so you can download a few extra apps to make it more useful for your needs if you need to.
It’s a little bigger than I was expecting but once you’re used to it you don’t notice it.
My only real gripe is the strap, I ordered this model specifically because it had a leather strap and it does but it’s backed with silicone…it did say this in the description but alas I didn’t see that.
It’s not an issue as I was going to order another strap anyway but just thought i’d mention it as it made my wrist sweat a lot and irritated my skin a bit.
Other than that i’ve had no issues with it and considering i’ve not worn a watch for about 20 years I barely notice it now.
Battery life isn’t is good as my last Huawei watch 2 but otherwise better in all ways, I tend to push the middle button when I lean on my hand and reset, Android wear still has a lot of room for improvement but at time of writing there’s not much better than this for the cost.
Loving it good to track your steps and sleep keeping me motivated
Google fit app works well with it
Highly recommended
So in my search for a nice bit of wearable tech I came across this. Reading all the different reviews from tech review magazines to independent reviewers the fossil gen5 was amongst their top 5 for reliability, versatility and style. Impressed I decided to get it myself.
What I’ve found is that it is a great watch, the level of customisation through the app and through setting is wonderful allowing me to have one button for Spotify, one button for Google maps (which you have to install via playstore) and the dial for all the rest of my apps.
The dial is responsive and also durable, a couple of times I’ve knocked the watch while doing heavy lifting and been terrified that I had killed it, and to my surprise it was still in perfect working order. You can use the dial as a scroll wheel through the app store, notes etc.
Watch face. The watch face itself is good however in direct sunlight the glare can be annoying so I would definitely recommend getting some anti-glare tempered glass screen protectors to mitigate this issue.
Wear OS. The fossil gen5 uses the (slightly outdated) wear OS from Google. This means it comes preinstalled with Google assistant, Google wellness and also access to the Google play store which has a wide variety of apps and even a couple of games specifically for smartwatches (to tide over the tedium of the daily commute)
Battery life. This is something I saw other reviewers complain about. Now unknown to the user when you turn it on there are actually “battery modes” available. From normal which can, with average use, drain the battery. To super power saving which would turn it into a wristwatch. However there is a “custom battery” setting which allows you to set which apps you want on in the background, like for example the workouts apps which you may not need daily. This increases your battery life considerably.
Additionally I have found that even if I forget to charge it the night before, a quick 10-15 boost charge will easily take it from 20% to 70% battery charge that then lasts me throughout the day.
Connectivity issues. If you leave the watch and walk away with your phone, naturally it will disconnect from Bluetooth. However when the watch and phone then come back into reach of each other the watch sometimes will need to be reconnected. This is the same for WiFi, if you leave the WiFi range the watch will disconnect, but then struggles to reconnect when back in the area. It is very minor and only happens occasionally but if you’re someone who doesn’t want to have to deal with that, there’s the warning.
Overall I would rate this watch 5/5 and has been one of my favourite purchases of 2021 so far.
So in my search for a nice bit of wearable tech I came across this. Reading all the different reviews from tech review magazines to independent reviewers the fossil gen5 was amongst their top 5 for reliability, versatility and style. Impressed I decided to get it myself.
What I’ve found is that it is a great watch, the level of customisation through the app and through setting is wonderful allowing me to have one button for Spotify, one button for Google maps (which you have to install via playstore) and the dial for all the rest of my apps.
The dial is responsive and also durable, a couple of times I’ve knocked the watch while doing heavy lifting and been terrified that I had killed it, and to my surprise it was still in perfect working order. You can use the dial as a scroll wheel through the app store, notes etc.
Watch face. The watch face itself is good however in direct sunlight the glare can be annoying so I would definitely recommend getting some anti-glare tempered glass screen protectors to mitigate this issue.
Wear OS. The fossil gen5 uses the (slightly outdated) wear OS from Google. This means it comes preinstalled with Google assistant, Google wellness and also access to the Google play store which has a wide variety of apps and even a couple of games specifically for smartwatches (to tide over the tedium of the daily commute)
Battery life. This is something I saw other reviewers complain about. Now unknown to the user when you turn it on there are actually “battery modes” available. From normal which can, with average use, drain the battery. To super power saving which would turn it into a wristwatch. However there is a “custom battery” setting which allows you to set which apps you want on in the background, like for example the workouts apps which you may not need daily. This increases your battery life considerably.
Additionally I have found that even if I forget to charge it the night before, a quick 10-15 boost charge will easily take it from 20% to 70% battery charge that then lasts me throughout the day.
Connectivity issues. If you leave the watch and walk away with your phone, naturally it will disconnect from Bluetooth. However when the watch and phone then come back into reach of each other the watch sometimes will need to be reconnected. This is the same for WiFi, if you leave the WiFi range the watch will disconnect, but then struggles to reconnect when back in the area. It is very minor and only happens occasionally but if you’re someone who doesn’t want to have to deal with that, there’s the warning.
Overall I would rate this watch 5/5 and has been one of my favourite purchases of 2021 so far.
I bought this watch, had it for x 3 days since delivery. The strap was too large, was was planning to have it made smaller later that week so all I did was charge it, download the app and sink it to my iPhone .
The watch itself was great but I never got to wear it sadly, just got to know it slowly.
What I noticed was that by the end of the 1st day it was down to 5% battery life with 46% used from being idle (I left it on my table since opening, mentioned above why).
This blew my mind because I was moving from Fitbit Versa to this upgrade.
Had the battery life been longer than x 1 day (say a week), it would have never left my arm! As much as i wanted to keep the watch due to it being a known brand, was not not willing at that price “just to accept” things.
I returned the item for a full refund.
This is something Fossil need to work on as competitors have it beat in this area hands down (Samsung / Hauwei / Amazon).
What are they doing differently is what Fossil needs to ask itself and go back to the drawing board to remedy with maybe Gen 6.
I bought this watch, had it for x 3 days since delivery. The strap was too large, was was planning to have it made smaller later that week so all I did was charge it, download the app and sink it to my iPhone .
The watch itself was great but I never got to wear it sadly, just got to know it slowly.
What I noticed was that by the end of the 1st day it was down to 5% battery life with 46% used from being idle (I left it on my table since opening, mentioned above why).
This blew my mind because I was moving from Fitbit Versa to this upgrade.
Had the battery life been longer than x 1 day (say a week), it would have never left my arm! As much as i wanted to keep the watch due to it being a known brand, was not not willing at that price “just to accept” things.
I returned the item for a full refund.
This is something Fossil need to work on as competitors have it beat in this area hands down (Samsung / Hauwei / Amazon).
What are they doing differently is what Fossil needs to ask itself and go back to the drawing board to remedy with maybe Gen 6.
Love it googe pay works on it can get 2 days and 10hrs out of the battery if I want other features to work 1 and a half days looks good very happy
Really nice watch, but it feels small , and laggy, it dosent respond really well at touching, it take few seconds to do the action that you requested.
Maybe with future updates is going to be better.
Watch works faultlessly for the week I’ve had it so far, poor battery life for the first two days as o line reviews state but thereafter it’s more than adequate for a day of casual usage (including a 1hr cycle with GPS). Watch looks great and fits well, with useful apps connectivity and general user interface. Charger supplied is a bit primative so would recommend a suspended hanging one for the bedside table. Other than that spot on. Highly recommended!
I’m loving this stylish Android smartwatch. It looks amazing, is comfortable to wear and has a bright screen.
The battery life is not brilliant but it will last me a day on “daily mode” and a full recharge only takes an hour or so. You can change the battery mode to extend the life if you are not able to charge it that often. This will reduce functionality somewhat so it’s a trade off with the performance.
The straps can be easily swapped out for a new look and the software integrates nicely with the Google Fit app. Overall, an excellent choice if you are not part of the Apple ecosystem.
Really good quality watch, the issues that I have come up against are to do with Wear OS instead of the watch itself. Feels premium and has the best Wear OS experience that I’ve had
This is my 3rd Wear OS watch and is the best yet, it is light weight, the screen is clear and bright and feels solid. The battery life can be 2 days+ if you don’t use WiFi and GPS and switch Bluetooth off whilst asleep. If you have everything switched on you might get a day out of the battery. It charges quickly too.
The sleep tracking can be a little hit and miss, especially if you lay in bed watching TV or reading before going to sleep, it will track you as asleep.
If you looking to get your husband out of the chair and occupied for hours, go for it. Excellent working watch
Really impressed with the watch, has everything I need in a watch and then some.
Comfortable to wear and easy to use. Battery life drains quite quick depending on services allowed, such as hearbeat, and I noticed my android phone battery used very quickly for Google play services since adding watch. Lots of tweaks on YouTube on how to improve battery life to last the whole day now, bit will need charging each night. Good quality screen, with thousands of watch faces available in specific apps