Fossil has experience with wearables. Since the early 2000s, the company has been working on smartwatches, and its goods have received widespread acclaim. Google Assistant abruptly vanished from numerous smartwatches, including Fossil smartwatches, after the Wear OS 3 upgrade was introduced. The feature was only supported by Samsung’s most recent Galaxy Watches and the Pixel Watch. To prevent customers from having to transfer brands merely to have the convenience of talking to Google on their wrist, Fossil is now intervening.
Fossil has also included support for Amazon’s Alexa Voice Assistant
Fossil is releasing an upgrade this month that brings Google Assistant to its Gen 6 Wear OS 3 smartwatches. This update covers not only the styles made by Fossil but also comparable items made by Diesel, Michael Kors, and Skagen. The smartwatch must be paired with a phone running stock Android with Google apps, which is the one little caveat.
The functionality of the Assistant on Fossil’s Gen 6 watches will feel quite familiar if you’ve used Google or Samsung smartwatches before. You can activate the AI helper by saying “hey Google,” holding a button, or tapping a watch face complication. This feature allows you to answer texts, control music, and perform various tasks that typically require your phone. Notably, unlike many other alternatives, Fossil’s implementation also includes support for voice commands.
Owners of Fossil smartwatches will surely benefit from this upgrade, but those who use Wear OS 3 watches from other manufacturers, such as Mobvoi or Montblanc, may not find it to be as beneficial. In contrast, this support greatly increases the number of wearable users who can now enjoy the benefits of Google Assistant without the need for a small smartphone screen given Fossil’s position as one of the top brands in Google-powered smartwatches.
Even though the predicted Gen 7’s features and release date are yet uncertain, it is likely to represent a significant boost whenever it does. So it’s best to hold off on purchasing the Gen 6 just because of the Assistant update. Instead, the upgrade mainly serves current Gen 6 users who suffered a loss of functionality as a result of the update last year.