Fossil jumps head first into the smartwatch game with a line of new products
There’s yet another analog watch maker looking to steal just a bit of the Apple Watch’s thunder. Major player Fossil has just shown a glimpse of its first smartwatch at today’s Intel Developer Conference.
The Android Wear device looks very similar to the Moto 360, which also features a round shape. It even seems to suffer from the same “flat tire” issue that plagued that wearable. As you can see, there’s a small portion on the bottom of the watch that doesn’t display any information. Can you imagine the outcry if the Apple Watch offered something like that?
Fossil and Intel’s smartwatch running Android Wear #idf15 pic.twitter.com/aXHSnAMsdN
— Lexy Savvides (@lexysavvides) August 18, 2015
Fossil is also promising that a complete line of other smartwatches will be available to purchase by the holiday shopping season. None of the important information, like retail pricing or battery life, was announced though.
Join the club
Not surprisingly, Fossil is joining a long line of competitors to take on the Apple Watch. A number of new Android Wear options are coming before the end of the year – even from high-end watch maker Tag Heuer.
Other companies, like Swiss watchmaker Mondaine and Withings, are even introducing their own “smart” devices complete with a fitness tracking twist.
Jump starting the market
No matter what you think about the Apple Watch and its numerous flaws, the device seems to have finally made the category interesting enough for other old-school watch creators to stand up and actually take notice.
And that’s a good thing, even if you’re an iPhone user. Just like what happened with the iPhone, competition will help spur the smartwatch market and force companies to offer more innovations in the smaller form factor.
But while the Android Wear side of the equation continues to be flooded with a number of different takes on the same formula, Apple can continue to improve on its nice first-generation device. I can only imagine what it will look like in a few years.
For other news today, see: Paper by FiftyThree is finally coming to iPhone, Send and receive money on your Apple Watch with Square Cash, and The Weekly Echo: Inaugural Edition.
