Fossil is a well-known brand in the smartwatch industry, recognized for its stylish designs and accessibility. Fossil Group, the parent company, has been manufacturing smartwatches based on Google’s Wear OS platform for several years. These smartwatches combine traditional watch aesthetics with modern technology, offering features such as activity tracking, notifications, and app integrations.
Fossil smartwatch comes in various styles and models, catering to different preferences and tastes. The brand has collaborated with other fashion and lifestyle brands like Michael Kors, Skagen, Diesel, and Kate Spade to produce smartwatches under their respective labels, expanding its market reach.
Despite its stylish appeal in smartwatch:
Fossil’s journey in the smart watch market has faced challenges, particularly in competing with other tech giants like Samsung and Apple. The company has periodically released updates and new models to stay relevant in the evolving smart watch landscape.
However Fossil smartwatch:
In recent times, Fossil has announced its decision to discontinue production of smartwatches based on Wear OS, signaling a shift in its business strategy. While the brand continues to support existing smart watch models for a limited period, it has redirected its focus towards its core strengths, which include designing and distributing traditional watches, jewelry, and leather goods under its own brand names as well as licensed ones.
Fossil has officially announced the end of its production of smartwatches based on Google’s Wear OS platform. After a prolonged period of silence, the company has confirmed that it will cease making smartwatches altogether.
For years, Fossil has been a prominent player in the Wear OS ecosystem, even during its less successful phases. However, with the debut of Wear OS 3 in 2021, Fossil found itself eclipsed by Samsung and later, Google’s Pixel Watch. The Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition, its final Wear OS release, received only moderate reviews.
In recent months, Fossil’s remaining smart watch inventory has been heavily discounted, with many Gen 6 models disappearing entirely. Concurrently, rumors surfaced suggesting that Fossil’s retail staff were indicating no future smart watch releases from the company.
These rumors have proven accurate.
Fossil has confirmed that it will discontinue its smart watch production entirely, including both Wear OS watches and hybrid models combining classic watch elements with e-paper displays. The company attributes this decision to the significant evolution of the smart watch market in recent years.
Fossil Group intends to reallocate resources to focus on its core strengths and segments of the business that offer robust growth opportunities. This includes designing and distributing traditional watches, jewelry, and leather goods under its own brand names as well as licensed ones.
Existing Fossil owners can expect continued support for their devices “for the next few years,” although the company’s Wear OS 3.5 update, released late last year, was plagued with bugs.
Fossil Group’s Wear OS offerings encompassed brands such as Fossil, Citizen, Skagen, Diesel, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and others.
For those interested, Best Buy is offering surprisingly high trade-in values for select models of existing Fossil smartwatches.