Fossil Group has sold plenty of smartwatches over the past few years, most of which are powered by Google's Wear OS software platform. The Fossil Gen 6 was released back in September, becoming the first watch with Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chipset (no, Mobvoi didn't beat them). Fossil Group has now announced two new watches based on the Gen 6 — an updated Skagen Falster, and a new model developed in partnership with Razer.

The Skagen Falster has been one of the more fashionable Wear OS watches over the past few years, with minimal bezels and detached lugs that give it a more minimalist design than most other smartwatches. The Skagen Falster 3 was released last year, based on the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch, and now Fossil Group is giving it an upgrade based on the Gen 6. For all intents and purposes, this is a Fossil Gen 6 with a different frame — it has the same Wear 4100+ SoC, the same 8GB storage, the same sensors, and so on.

Specification

Skagen Falster Gen 6

Razer x Fossil

Build

Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel

Dimensions & Weight

  • 42mm case size
  • 11.5mm depth
  • 44mm case size
  • 11.5mm depth

Display

1.28-inch AMOLED (326 ppi)

1.28-inch AMOLED (326 ppi)

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+

RAM & Storage

  • 8GB internal storage
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • 1GB RAM

Battery & Charging

  • Magnetic USB charger
  • Rapid Charging (~80% charge in 30 minutes)
  • Magnetic USB charger
  • Rapid Charging (~80% charge in 30 minutes)

Sensors

  • PPG Heart Rate
  • SpO2
  • Accelerometer/Gyroscope
  • Compass
  • Altimeter
  • Off-body IR
  • Ambient Light
  • PPG Heart Rate
  • SpO2
  • Accelerometer/Gyroscope
  • Compass
  • Altimeter
  • Off-body IR
  • Ambient Light

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth 5.0 LE
  • GPS
  • Wi-Fi
  • NFC SE
  • Bluetooth 5.0 LE
  • GPS
  • Wi-Fi
  • NFC SE

Software

Google Wear OS 2

Google Wear OS 2

Other Features

  • Water resistant up to 3ATM
  • Water resistant up to 3ATM
  • Four customizable Razer Chroma RGB effects
  • Extra green watch strap included in box

Price

$295

$329

The Skagen Falster Gen 6 will be available in five styles, all using the same 42mm case size (the same as the smaller Fossil Gen 6). The style options mirror what was available with the older Falster 3, including my favorite variant, the leather band with the silver watch. You'll also be able to swap the bands for any standard 20mm watch band.

Meanwhile, Fossil has partnered with Razer (yes, the Razer that makes gaming PCs and accessories) to create the 'Razer x Fossil Gen 6' smartwatch. It's essentially the larger (44mm) Fossil Gen 6 with two custom bands in the box, a black strap and a green strap, and three exclusive watch faces. This will apparently be a very limited edition run, with only 1,337 units available for purchase.

The main catch is that both watches will be running Wear OS 2 at launch, not the newer Wear OS 3 that debuted on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic last year. Fossil says that the Falster Gen 6 and Razer x Fossil are compatible with Wear OS 3, and they will receive the update sometime in 2022.

The Skagen Falster Gen 6 will be available to purchase on Skagen.com (and likely Amazon) later this month, starting at $295. The Razer X Fossil will be available from Razer.comFossil.com, and select Fossil retail stores for $329.

Update: This article briefly said that the Razer watch would be available at GameStop. This is no longer the case.