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Fossil Group has only made fashion-focused wearables with a focus on connectivity and health monitoring that can be used as smartwatches. The company has not yet made a wearable that athletes or even just average fitness users would like. Fossil Gen 6 has the same idea, but it has a few new features, such as the SpO2 sensor, Qualcomm’s fastest chip.
Support for fast charging, and a promise of a WearOS 3 upgrade that hasn’t come true yet. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is the latest product from the Korean company and is expected to be the Apple Watch for Android phones. It is the best watch on the market in every way, from battery life to fitness tracking features to smartwatch software.
Samsung Watch 5 vs Fossil Gen 6 Comparison Table
| Samsung Watch 5 | Fossil Gen 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 40mm & 44mm | 42mm & 44mm |
| Display | 1.4-inches, AMOLED, 450 x 450 (~321ppi) | 1.28-inches, OLED, 416 x 416 (326ppi) |
| RAM | 1.5GB | 1GB |
| Storage | 16GB | 8GB |
| Processor | Galaxy Watch 4 | Fossil Gen 5 |
| Battery | ~40 hours | ~24 hours, multi-day (Extended Mode) |
| Sensors | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Heart Rate + Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor | Accelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient Light, Compass, Gyroscope, Off-body IR, PPG Heart Rate, SPO2 |
| Water Resistance | 5ATM+IP68, MIL-STD-810H | 3ATM |
| Price | 342.65 | 222.67 |
Samsung Watch 5 vs Fossil Gen 6: Design and display
The Galaxy Watch 5 builds on the success of the Galaxy Watch 4. The new watch is simple and clean, just like the ones that came before it. It has a flat display and an aluminium case. One of the most noticeable changes is that the bottom of the watch has been reshaped to make it fit better and make better contact with your wrist. This improves both the fit and comfort of the watch as well as the accuracy of the sensor data.
The cover glass is now made of Sapphire crystal glass, which is 60% less likely to get scratched than the old glass. The Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch is a stylish timepiece that blends classic and modern design elements in a way that looks great.
The stainless steel body makes it look sleek and expensive, and the three buttons on the right side make it more useful. The middle button can also be used to turn the crown. The bezel has a pattern of notches that make it look like it can be turned, just like the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, but it can’t be turned. You can buy this smartwatch from its official website.
Samsung Watch 5 vs Fossil Gen 6: Hardware and specs
When it comes to the hardware, these watches are different in a number of ways. The Exynos W920 chip that runs the Galaxy Watch 5 is the same chip that ran the Galaxy Watch 4 series. Using last year’s chipset doesn’t seem to have hurt the phone’s performance, so it’s still easy to scroll through menus and switch between apps.
This is helped by the 1.5GB of RAM, and the 16GB of storage gives you a lot of room to store apps or music you don’t want to download. The Gen 6 Wellness Edition from Fossil is a bit different. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+, which has been around for two years but didn’t start showing up in wearables until a year after the Gen 6 series.
It’s a good chip that works much better than the one it replaces. Even though it only has 1GB of RAM, Wear OS 3 works fine on it. The watch also only has 8GB of storage, which is fine as long as you don’t download too many offline playlists. You can get this smartwatch from its official website.
Samsung Watch 5 vs Fossil Gen 6: Software, health, and fitness
Samsung went with its own One UI Watch interface, which is basically Wear OS with a Tizen twist. If you liked how Tizen worked on devices like the Galaxy Watch Active 2, you’ll fit right in. But it’s not for everyone, and it makes it clear that this watch is mostly about Samsung.
That means that some features are only available on Galaxy smartphones, which is bad news if you have a different one. But it’s less of a problem than in the past, thanks to things like Google Assistant, but if you have an iPhone, you still won’t be able to use the watch at all.
The software on the Fossil Gen 6 is mostly the same as the “stock” Wear OS 3 on the Pixel Watch. You won’t get some of the Pixel-only features, like Fitbit for now, but Fossil has some tried-and-true software editions that fans have come to love.
Samsung Watch 5 vs Fossil Gen 6: Fitness and health tracking
The Fossil Gen 6 is miles behind the Galaxy Watch 5. Both smartwatches have basic health features like continuous health tracking, SpO2 monitoring, sleep tracking, and so on. However, the Galaxy Watch 5 has more advanced health features. Among these are ECG, monitoring of blood pressure, and body composition analysis.
The Galaxy Watch 5 also has a new temperature sensor that can track your skin temperature at night and give you more information about how you sleep, but it hasn’t been turned on yet. Note that the ECG and blood pressure features only work on Samsung phones and are not available in all markets.
The Galaxy Watch 5 is also the best when it comes to how the software and data are shown. Samsung Health is easy to use and has a lot of features and information about your health. Fossil chose to use the Google Fit platform, which is great but doesn’t have as many features or insights as Samsung Health.
Which should you buy?
Samsung has the clear upper hand. Even though the Galaxy Watch 5 is just a small step up from its predecessor, the company put its best foot forward and made it the best Android smartwatch you can buy. This is definitely because Samsung and Google worked together to make Wear OS 3. The Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition is a great watch that works well and has some useful health features. However, the short battery life and limited tracking options ruin the experience.
Fossil has some useful software, like the ability to connect to iOS devices, but nothing that makes it stand out. The Galaxy Watch, on the other hand, has Samsung written all over it, from how it looks to what it can do. With Samsung’s great software support and a lot of health sensors, you’re likely to get more out of the watch.
Fossil Gen 6 PROS AND CONS
Pros:
- Respectable design
- Bright, colorful display
- Accurate heart rate monitor
Cons:
- Short battery life
- Wear OS 3 not coming until 2022
Samsung Watch 5 PROS AND CONS
Pros:
- Sporty, yet versatile design
- Stronger, scratch-resistant screen
- Added skin temperature sensor
Cons:
- One-day battery life
- Optimized for Samsung phones
FAQs
Is Fossil Gen 6 better than Gen 5?
Compared to the Gen 5 models, the Gen 6 smartwatches are supposed to be 30% better, with faster app loading and other improvements. Fossil also says that these models use less power, but the maximum estimated battery life is still only 24 hours.
Is Fossil or Samsung smartwatch better?
Both the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Fossil Gen 6 are great Wear OS smartwatches with a lot to offer. But when you look at everything, the Galaxy Watch 5 is the better choice. In almost every way, it is better than the Fossil Gen 6, including performance, fitness features, battery life, and software experience.
Is Fossil Gen 6 worth buying?
The Fossil Gen 6 is one of the most attractive smartwatches I’ve seen recently, if not the most attractive. This is easy to add to your fanciest wardrobe because it has a beautiful body, a comfortable leather strap, and some nice watch faces. It has a lot of smart and fitness-related features.