Fossil activates gamer mode on Razer smartwatch

Fossil usually appears at CES with a large number of smartwatches, but last year it was strange to Wear OS. Google and Samsung have announced a new integrated version of Wear OS, but the problem was that non-Samsung watches (including Fossil) weren’t eligible for upgrades from mid-to-late 2022. Given the situation, this year Fossil keeps it relatively simple with a limited edition Razer smartwatch and an updated version of Skagen Falster.

Before asking, no, the Razer X Fossil Gen6 smartwatch doesn’t come with RGB lighting. However, it comes with three Razer brand watch faces. This includes a “Chroma” face that can be customized for Razer’s other Chroma products. It’s not technically RGB, but it’s the next best option as it allows you to enable “breathing” and “wave” lighting patterns. The other two are more subtle. One is an analog face with the Razer logo, and the other is a Razer-inspired font that spells out time. The 44mm watch has a matte black case and two interchangeable straps. Black and stunning neon green.

Photo by Victoria Song / Zavage

This is much like a “gamer” smartwatch, unless you take into account the fact that you can only buy 1,337. Garmin launched the esports fitness watch in late 2020. This allows you to track your esports activity and stream your biometrics on Twitch, but don’t expect it here. The Razer X Fossil smartwatch is basically the same as the Gen6. In short, it’s a Wear OS watch with a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chip. It also features a 1.28-inch color touch screen, built-in GPS, and contactless payment. Like other Fossil watches, it can be charged quickly. This means you can use 80% battery in 30 minutes.

Fossil blamed whether to re-release the watch when it became popular, saying nothing was 100% planned. However, we couldn’t rule out collaboration with Razer again in the future. As for why Razer wanted to collaborate on smartwatches, Fossil says it’s tied to the recent efforts of gaming companies to promote esports mental health and wellness. (And who can forget that Razer once tried to launch its own line of unlucky fitness bands and less smart smartwatches?)

If your Razer watch is a gamer version of Gen6, the new Skagen Falster is Gen6 with Danish minimalism veneer. The main upgrade here is to add a 4100+ chip and 6 colorways. It’s not completely empty. According to Fossil, the more powerful 4100+ chip meant it was possible to pack more features while maintaining Falster’s 42mm case size. It’s refreshing to see the watch stay small in a world where smartwatches are getting bigger and bigger.

Both watches have the same health features — a new SpO2 sensor, sleep tracking, and Fossil’s new wellness app. The excellent power efficiency of the 4100+ also means that you can finally use your Fossil smartwatch to track your sleep, but you still need to recharge it daily. Both are water resistant to 3 ATMs, so they are safe enough for showers and rainy days, but they cannot withstand swimming perfectly. (Usually, the pool needs to be water resistant to 5 ATMs.)

Photo by Victoria Song / Zavage

I had to spend time with both the Razer watch and the new Skagen Falster. The 4100 chip makes a big difference in performance and battery life compared to the Gen5 watch with the 3100.By design, the Falster looks great on the wrist, but it doesn’t. that Different from Falster 3. My unit had a metal strap and was stylish, but not ideal for workouts or sleeping. The 44mm case was a bit big, but the Razer watch is also a handsome smartwatch. On my wrist. The neon green strap was also too big for my taste and was a bit unnecessary considering that most pizzas come from the Razer watch face. That said, if you want your smartwatch to match your mechanical keyboard, this should solve the problem.

The main thing to note is that both watches are currently running the old Wear OS 2. The advantage is that both are powered by the 4100+ platform, so you’ll be able to upgrade to Wear OS 3 later this year (also known as Google’s work on pushing updates). However, it’s a tricky time for Samsung watches to already run the new Wear OS, and there are rumors that Google is working on the 2022 Pixel Watch. This is the fact that Fossil admits to hindering the initial sale of Gen6.

The 1,337 Razer x Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch will sell for $ 329 and will be available on the Fossil and Razer websites later this month. Meanwhile, all versions of Skagen Falster Gen 6 will sell for $ 295 this month.

Correction, January 5, 2022, 11:20 am: Fossil’s first press release stated that the Razer x Fossil Gen6 will be available on the GameStop website. The company informed us after announcing that this was incorrect.