Update 1 (08/20/2020 @ 2:00 PM ET): The big update for gen 5 smartwatches from Fossil is now rolling out. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on August 10, 2020, is preserved below.

Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch owners are in for a treat as their year-old smartwatches will soon be getting a host of new features via a software update. The update, which is scheduled to roll out on August 19th, includes a new sleep tracking feature, VO2 max monitoring, and more. According to a recent report from Droid-Life, Fossil describes the update as a "Wellness app rollout" that will allow users to start a run, measure cardio fitness levels, and track their sleep using their Gen 5 smartwatch.

The Wellness app could be an entirely new app for Fossil smartwatches that users will have to download on their smartphone or access through the smartwatch. If that's the case, users will be able to easily access all their fitness tracking information in one convenient location.

Furthermore, a report from Engadget points out that the update will include new avatars for contacts, easier access to "key tools" and new battery modes. The battery modes are especially interesting as they'll let users extend the battery life of their smartwatches to at least 24 hours on a single charge.

Along with the features mentioned above, the new Wellness app will also let users track VO2 max readings, which will prove to be quite useful for those of you who are serious about working out. While Fossil's Gen 5 smartwatches won't be the first wearables to feature VO2 max monitoring, it's great to see Fossil bringing the feature to the year-old lineup. As of now, Fossil has released no further information about the update. We'll update this post as soon as we learn more from the company.

Update: Rolling Out

As reported by Droid-Life, the big update bringing new health and wellness features is rolling out to fifth-generation smartwatches from Fossil. The update an optimized activity tracker, sleep tracking, cardio fitness tracking, a new UI and features for battery modes, and phone app updates. Fossil boasts the update allows for essentially 24/7 sleep tracking thanks to the fact that their smartwatches can be charged to 80% in less than an hour. The new Wellness app can monitor real-time metrics such as heart rate, pace, distance, steps, calories, and more using half as much battery life as before by shifting processing off the main application processor.