Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch Review

这是一个有吸引力的智能手表，可以为不同的面孔和乐队提供很多选择，以及强大的健康跟踪选项，并且不会将您锁定在一个制造商或平台上。在某些情况下，例如连接性，灵活性以便利为代价。但是，化石的第6代仍然是一款体面的手表，对于大多数人来说，它的智能足够，并且在Android和iOS上工作。

About the Fossil Gen 6

• Display: 1.28-inch Color AMOLED with a 416 x 416 resolution and 326ppi
• Processor：Qualcomm Snapdragon穿4100+
• 连接性: Bluetooth 5.0 LE, GPS, NFC SE, WiFi
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient Light, Compass, Gyroscope, Off-body IR, PPG Heart Rate, SPO2
• Water resistance: Up to 30 meters (3 ATM)
• Audio: Microphone and speaker
• Battery：不给出尺寸。化石宣传“ 24小时 +多日扩展模式”
• 内存和存储：1GB RAM + 8GB内部内存
• Extras： 没有任何

What we like

It's a good-looking watch

Credit: Reviewed / Jordan McMahon

Smartwatches are as much a fashion statement as they are a health-tracking gizmo, so they should look good enough to flaunt on your wrist. That's not a problem with the Gen 6, which sports a 44mm stainless steel case that looks good without drawing too much attention.

创6有三个按钮,位于右边of the display, used to navigate Google Wear OS. The top button takes you to a fitness dashboard, where you can see your daily metrics for things like activity, sleep, heart rate, and blood oxygen level. Below that is the main button, which takes you back to your watch face and serves as the watch's dial. The bottom button is dedicated to NFC payments, which are all done through Google Pay.

It's available with avariety of bands, including stainless steel links or mesh, silicone, and leather. Most won't add to the price of the watch, aside from the stainless steel link band, which adds $20 to the Gen 6's $300 price tag. Aside from the camo band, which is fine if that's your jam, all the options look stylish and should accompany your outfits just fine.

Cross-platform compatibility

我们对三星的Galaxy Watch 4的最大挫败感之一，正如我们在我们的review, was its incompatibility with iOS and non-Samsung Android devices as well as its use of Bixby instead of Google Assistant.

化石对Gen 6没有这样的失误。它与iOS设备和非SAMSUNG ANDROID设备都兼容，因此非常适合那些喜欢不时切换平台的人。即使您不太可能很快跳船，也很高兴知道您的手表并不是另一件昂贵的墙壁将您塞入一个公司的花园中。

There's also the added benefit of being powered by Google's Assistant, which is far more robust than Samsung's Bixby, by way of being able to search the internet to answer questions like "When is the Stanley Cup?"

Unfortunately, if you're on iOS, some commands on the Gen 6 won't translate over to your iPhone. For instance, if you enable Do Not Disturb on your watch, iOS won't have any way of detecting that and switching your焦点模式to DND (something you can do with the Apple Watch). This isn't a knock on Fossil, though, as that's an issue with iOS's system permissions and integrations with third-party hardware, but it's something to keep in mind if you're going in expecting seamless integration.

A healthy amount of data

Credit: Reviewed / Jordan McMahon

如果您正在寻找擅长锻炼锻炼的手表，那么化石Gen 6的健康跟踪Google Fit) works pretty well. In a side-by-side test in tracking a cycling workout against the Apple Watch Series 6, the Gen 6’s results came pretty close to Apple’s information. The average heartbeat for the rides we tracked differed by under 20 bpm, while calories burned had a difference of about 35 calories. Meanwhile, the average speed was nearly identical between the two watches.

Ultimately, those differences are fairly negligible, as the metrics are more useful for tracking changes over time than they are for measuring the raw data of an individual workout. So, as long as you’re tracking all your workouts with your smartwatch, rather than bouncing between that and using your phone or another tracker, the results should be fairly trustworthy.

要注意的一件事：在我们的测试中，我们无法像Apple Watch那样获得化石Gen 6自动检测运动并启动锻炼。如果您倾向于驳回这些通知，那没什么大不了的，但是跟踪步行和跑步需要您更多的代理机构。

What we don't like

Setup has some missing links

Credit: Reviewed / Jordan McMahon

Setup will vary depending on whether you're on iOS or Android. If you're using iOS, you'll have to download at least two apps from the App Store to get things running: the Wear OS app, as well as Google Fit. After you've configured both apps to your liking, with the health tracking and watch face settings you prefer, you should be ready to start using your watch.

但是，事情并不那么简单，至少在与iPhone配对时没有。在整天的测试中，我们发现我们必须通过回到Wear OS应用程序并等待重新建立连接的连接来重新使用iPhone 12 Mini重新划分Gen 6。同样，这可能与iOS与第三方硬件相互作用的方式比化石所做的任何事情都更加相关，但是它使每天使用手表的方便明显不如Apple Watch或Galaxy Watch。

There's also the issue of getting the bands set up just right. If you've opted for a leather or silicone option, you'll have no issue wearing the watch right out of the box. On the other hand, if you pick the stainless steel link band, you might have a bit of trouble.

我们的审核单元需要删除三个链接才能舒适地磨损，因此需要去当地的珠宝店旅行以删除链接。化石没有自己提供任何工具，而最近的化石商店近30英里。。乐队本身看起来和感觉很好，但是它提供了另一个不便的障碍，可以开始使用手表。

Not enough apps

无论您是使用iPhone还是Android设备，化石Gen 6都无法访问像Apple Watch一样多的应用程序。While the staples, such as Strava, Spotify, and Google Maps can all be accessed when paired with an Android phone, you won't be able to use them at all when paired with an iPhone, as you can’t download third-party apps to Wear OS from iOS, so you're limited to what's installed out of the box.

Even when you do have access to the Play Store's library of watch apps, the pool is pretty shallow. You might be able to find one or two health-tracking apps that suit your needs better than Google's options, but there isn't much room for experimentation.

You’re somewhat limited on watch faces, too. Although the available options, including a seasonal face that currently displays an AirStream-like illustration alongside the time and a utility-geared face with four spots for health metrics, are nice, the 18 faces you’re presented with are all you can choose from. Most of them look pretty good, but some options look a little tacky and tough-to-read, especially in direct sunlight.

Among the greatest, but not the latest

While Fossil's embrace of Google's Wear OS is a welcome change over Samsung's mishmash of proprietary and third-party integrations, the Gen 6's software has a glaring issue of its own: it's running an outdated version of Wear OS. As of this review, the Gen 6 is running Wear OS 2.32, while the Galaxy Watch runs a later version of Wear OS 3.

这似乎不是一个巨大的问题，但是穿着操作系统标志着电池寿命的显着改善，以及独立版本的Google Maps，它不需要与手机的操作密切相关。此更新可能会稍后再到第6代next year但是直到那时，您要使用Gen 6支付过时的手表的高价价格。

根据这一报告从边缘, that's more on Google, as Wear OS 3 won't be available for other smartwatches until later in 2022, an entire year from now. Still, the best-case scenario would mean your watch won't be receiving the latest software any time soon, and even that is far from a guarantee.

你应该买吗

Maybe, but only if you're a dedicated platform-agnostic

Credit: Reviewed / Jordan McMahon

While it wasn't the case a few years ago, a smartwatch purchase can be as much of a commitment to a given platform as a smartphone. Both Samsung and Apple's offerings, to varying degrees, require pairing with the company's phones and software, while Fossil's Gen 6 works with both platforms while maintaining a reasonable price and attractive design.

Despite that flexibility, the Gen 6 fails in some key categories: it's running outdated software, it can't run as many apps as some of the competition, and its connection can be spotty on iOS. While some of these faults may be out of Fossil's hands, forgoing them to the tune of $300 isn't an easy ask, especially when the competition is so steep.

For a little less, you could get aGalaxy Watch 4, which may not offer the same cross-platform compatibility, but it's up-to-date on Wear OS and it's easier to set up. On the iOS side, you could pay a little more for theApple Watch Series 7, which comes with the power of Apple's App Store, along with seamless integration into iOS.

也就是说，如果您正在寻找能够将您锁定到单个公司产品的功能强大的智能手表，那么Gen 6是您最好的选择，因为它是最有可能获得更新的WEAL OS 3next year。It's not too pricey, there are enough band options to match it with any of your outfits, and its health-tracking works pretty well. While not the latest and greatest, the Gen 6 provides a good blend of features and compatibility without hiking up the asking price.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.