Fossil’s Kate Spade Smartwatch Finally Isn’t Just Dumb Wrist Candy

At CES , you could always count onFossilto show up to Las Vegas with an ground forces ofsmartwatches . The same is unfeigned this year , but now the hotshot of the lineup is the novel version of Fossil ’s Kate Spade escallop touchscreen smartwatch .

Fossil present the watchlast twelvemonth , but aside from a cute aesthetic it did n’t offer much in the path of specs . It ran Android Wear 2.0 , had no GPS , no heart rate monitoring , no NFC payments , and its unique features were all style - base .

This metre around , Fossil is adding built - in GPS , an optic heart charge per unit sensor , and NFC payments . More unsatisfying is that it ’s still bank on the superannuated Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 chipset , leaving its full cousin — theFossil Sport — as the solitary low-cost 3100 - power smartwatch presently on the market . you could plausibly gestate the same one - day ( at good ) bombardment life you get on most Wear OS smartwatches , though the rapid consign feature does take some of the bunco out of it .

This time, Fossil’s managed to balance form and function with the Kate Spade smartwatch.

This time, Fossil’s managed to balance form and function with the Kate Spade smartwatch.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

In person , the Kate Spade smartwatch is quite jolly — though to be honest , most of Fossil ’s offerings are . The unexampled scalloped band is a nice feeling though , as is the warmheartedness - influence animation that shows up on silver screen whenever you take your heart charge per unit . The upgrade to jade OS 2.0 ( not to be confused with the 2d variation of its predecessor , Android Wear 2.0 ) is also a liberal boost in functionality , with an improved Google Fit and Google Assistant experience . And in addition to introductory action tracking , the sentinel is also water - resistant to 3 ATM . Basically that means it should be safe for the rain shower or a loose angle of dip in the pool .

You will devote a lot for the Kate Spade name , however . The picket is expected to ship in the spring , and the standard interpretation with either the scalloped strap or a blush - tone shoulder strap will retail for $ 295 . The slightly fancier , metal - link version will be you $ 335 . In damage of special software , the watch is also define to the choose your flavour microapp , which lets you match the watch face to whatever outfit you ’re wearing . That said , this is the same price the lookout man retail for last year . At least this time around , you get the appropriate specs to vindicate the price .

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Photo: Victoria Song