Fossil is at the very forefront of the smartwatch movement, with the company gaining its time in the spotlight with the launch of its first smartwatch, the Fossil Q Founder, last Fall (that now has rose gold and black metal color options), followed by the masculine Q Marshal and the feminine Q Wander that have now crossed out of the pre-order stage and are available for purchase in the US. The company, however, doesn't just make smartwatches with touchscreens: it's also having some success with analog smartwatches that have some notifications but still mimic traditional analog smartwatches (such as the Q54 Pilot) as well as the wearables market with its most recent acquisition being that of Misfit Shine manufacturer Misfit.
Analog smartwatches have their appeal because they appear as traditional watches, where few can notice at a glance or distance that the watch on your wrist is "smart." I'm not sure I'd want to wear a smartwatch if it appeared "ashamed" of its "brain," but analog smartwatches have one positive: they are helping analog watch wearers participate in the smartwatch era and usher in the smartwatch movement where every wrist wearable must be smart to go home with consumers.
Now, to continue the momentum of the smartwatch revolution and to continue the company's ascendancy in the wearables market, Fossil has released 4 analog smartwatches (or what Fossil calls "hybrid smartwatches") for purchase: the Q Crewmaster, Q Nate, Q Gazer and Q Tailor.
Our new hybrid smartwatches are the ultimate convergence of fashion and technology, bringing together the elegance and simplicity of an analog watch with the most popular alerts and tracking features offered by today's smartwatches. We pride ourselves on being innovators in the fashion watch space, and we believe that the hybrid smartwatch is the future of fashion watches,
said Fossil Chief Creative Office (CCO) Jill Elliott.
The Fossil Q Crewmaster, Nate, Gazer, and Tailor all provide tracker activities such as activity tracking, sleep monitoring, goal setting, alarm, vibrating notifications, and certain quick settings shortcuts. Additionally, Fossil has added fitness tracking integration with apps such as Google Fit, UA Record by Under Armour, UP by Jawbone and even Apple Health. The Q Crewmaster is the largest and most rugged; the Q Nate is for those who prefer a more urban design; the Q Gazer, intended for ladies, comes with crystals; and the Q Tailor is for virtually anyone who prefers a classic look -- though Fossil says that the Q Tailor is a "feminine" look.
Battery life for these new "Q" hybrid/analog smartwatches will last 6 months on a single coin-cell battery.
The Fossil Q Nate, Q Crewmaster, Q Tailor, and Q Gazer are all compatible with Android smartphones running Android 4.4 KitKat, 5.0 Lollipop, 6.0 Marshmallow, and 7.0 Nougat, as well as iPhones 5 and up running iOS 8.2 or higher.
The Q Crewmaster is presumably strong and rugged, while the Q Nate provides fashion and functionality. As for the Q Gazer, it "does it all," Fossil says, while the Q Tailor lives by the mantra "less is more," keeping a minimalistic design and "quiet" elegance. You can visit the press release to see just how each of these new 4 "Q" smartwatch lines take on a character all their own. If you want to purchase these smartwatches, prepare to shelve out $175 starting on Wednesday, September 14th -- with official sales commencing on Monday, September 26th.
Until September 14th, you can make do with the photos of the Q Crewmaster, Q Nate, Q Gazer, and Q Tailor below.
