Is it worth buying Fossil Gen 5?
Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle HR smartwatch performs Wear OS 2.10 with August security patches. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory. Fossil has opted for the best in terms of hardware, but the software seems a big disappointment. Every time I used the Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle HR, it seemed that the hardware and software didn’t communicate with each other very well. As soon as you start the Wear OS smartwatch, there is a noticeable delay while browsing between screens. This experience reminds me of the early days of Pebble’s smartwatches.
In Fossil, click on the crown to open the app drawer and while scrolling through them is easier, the apps look like a second-class citizen. You’ll notice it with the Google app. As soon as you click On The Play Store, there is a two-second difference between the launch time and the home screen. You won’t see similar delays when you open the App Store on your Apple Watch or Tizen store on Galaxy Watch. The Google Assistant also takes its sweet time to load queries. I enabled the Listening Assistant on Fossil Gen 5 and my smartphone and asked for a query, the phone immediately answered the question, but the watch had problems. Spotify comes with a barebones feature and Google Play Music is the only way to download apps.
Fitness monitoring features, whether tracking steps or heart rate, are very accurate. I compared the step tracking and heart rate result with another wearable and Fossil looked more accurate. I also liked the fitness tracking features of the wearable. By monitoring my career, walking and cycling, the sensors captured the data with great precision. The price you pay is basically for higher sensors that have fewer false positives. Although the experience isn’t as crazy as the closing rings on the Apple Watch, the Google Fit experience is commendable. If you’re a fitness enthusiast, then Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle HR smartwatch offers plenty of options to work with. However, if you are a professional, you should see professional wearables from brands like Garmin or Polar.
Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle HR smartwatch operates Wear OS with few changes, but the company knows Google’s limitations. Fossil has built its own battery modes that are different from the standard Wear OS battery configuration. When you swipe from the top and click the battery, you have four battery modes: daily, extended, customized, and only now. The Daily, as the name suggests, allows all sensors and offers a one-day battery life. In the Extended setting, sensors and Bluetooth are turned on during working hours to save battery power. In this mode, you can get to the second day without any problem. With custom settings, you can save your own experience. I’ve used this setting more over the last three weeks with the Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle HR smartwatch.
Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle HR smartwatch Spesc:
Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Wear 3100
Case Size: 44mm
Memory: 1 GB RAM, 8GB Storage
Functions: Heart Rate Tracking / GPS / Google Pay™ / Swimproof / Notifications / Personalize Your Dial / Control Your Music / Interchangeable Watch Band
Connectivity: Bluetooth Smart Enabled / 4.2 Low Energy
Compatibility: Android OS 6.0+ (EXCLUDING GO EDITION), iOS 10.0+
| Special features | Time Display, Accelerometer, GPS, Calendaring, Notifications, Heart Rate Monitor, Sleep Monitor, Elevation Tracker, Text Messaging |
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Photo:Fossil
