What you need to know
- Fossil recently updated its hybrid smartwatch companion app with a new UI.
- The company is working with Google designers to bring compelling features to the app, including Wear OS support.
- Fossil is expected to update its smartwatches to Wear OS 3 sometime this year.
Fossil has confirmed that it's working on bringing changes to the companion app for its hybrid smartwatches. The app has recently received a redesign following the launch of its latest hybrid smartwatch model, and it looks like more changes are on the way as we await the Wear OS 3 update later this year.
The announcement was issued on Reddit (via 9to5Google) from the Fossil team. It suggests the company is working hard to make the best smartwatch experience for everyone with its app and that it's listening to feedback from consumers and from within the company.
Addressing the phone app, Fossil admits it's not perfect, which prompted it to update the app following the launch of the Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid smartwatch. However, one small section mentioned that Fossil is prepping the app for its Wear OS 3-compatible watches ahead of the big update, which is scheduled for later this year for devices like the Fossil Gen 6.
Fossil further implies that it's working closely with Google to deliver a good app experience. It says that many of the changes made to the existing companion app are in preparation for Wear OS 3 support.
Samsung already has a smartwatch companion app for the Galaxy Watch 4, and there are rumors that the Pixel Watch will also have its own app, so it makes sense for Fossil to incorporate Wear OS into its existing app.
Alongside changes to the companion app, Fossil also revealed the reasoning behind the UI changes on its latest hybrid smartwatch.
"Confusing for many. It combined elements of vertical and horizontal scrolling when there were only 3 vertical buttons on the side to navigate and there was way too much use of complicated press vs press-n-hold vs very long press that were just unintuitive and required too much learning."
The new hybrid smartwatch UI is said to be more straightforward, intuitive, and easily approachable.
Meanwhile, the announcement from Fossil gets us more exciting for the Wear OS 3 update, which is expected to roll out somewhat soon. So far, the recently launched Montblanc Summit 3 is the only smartwatch outside of the Galaxy Watch 4 with Wear OS 3 onboard, making us hopeful that some of the best Wear OS watches will receive it soon.
The Fossil Gen 6 is a stylish smartwatch with built-in Alexa support, helpful health tracking features, and super-fast charging so you can quickly top up before you head out for the day.
