As many people begin looking for more ways to integrate technology into their lives, one of the most popular devices is a smartwatch. Smartwatches can help respond to messages, receive notifications and even run apps. Many major tech and watch companies sell smartwatches now, including Samsung and Fossil. Each company has unique advantages and disadvantages to its smartwatch products. Choosing between the two companies requires consideration of different factors.
Samsung smartwatches are equipped with better technology and are capable of performing more tasks directly through the watch, while Fossil smartwatches come with a lower price tag and more fashionable options.
Fossil smartwatches come in various designs that run on Wear OS by Google, and they’ve had six generations of products. Smartwatches from Fossil provide a fashion-first approach that still offers plenty of different high-quality features.
The biggest strength of Fossil smartwatches is the wide range of styles and designs. With both men’s and women’s smartwatch designs available, Fossil smartwatches are styled to work well with both formal and casual outfits. Additionally, Fossil smartwatches come with multiple straps, including leather, metal, gold chain and silicone.
Using Wear OS, Fossil smartwatches are compatible with both Android and iOS devices, allowing for messaging, notifications and some apps to be managed directly from the face of the watch. Fossil smartwatches monitor basic health and fitness data as well, including heart rate, blood oxygen levels and daily activity.
The biggest advantage Fossil has over Samsung smartwatches is the price. With the newest model of the Fossil smartwatch costing around $100 less, the device is far more affordable. This allows for a larger group of potential buyers to find a Fossil smartwatch in their budget.
The largest downside for a Fossil smartwatch is the power and performance of the watch itself. Fossil smartwatches have significantly less RAM and internal storage than Samsung smartwatches, which may affect overall speed and performance, especially when running memory-intensive apps.
At the same time, Fossil smartwatches are capable of less than Samsung. While Fossil has a variety of health tracking options, Samsung simply offers a larger number of them, along with LTE capabilities for the watch itself, which can be beneficial to many users. Fossil smartwatches run on Google’s Wear OS, which may also be seen as an inferior operating system to Wear OS powered by Samsung.
Fossil smartwatches also have less battery life, at just around 24 hours. This means that users will have to recharge more often and may not be able to wear it to sleep every night, meaning that the smartwatch won’t be able to track sleeping data.
The highest-quality Fossil smartwatch is the Fossil Men's Gen 6 44-Millimeter Touchscreen Smart Watch. This is the newest generation of smartwatches from Fossil and it comes with a new Qualcomm chipset that improves its performance by 30% in comparison to the previous model.
A more affordable option from Fossil is the Fossil Women's Gen 5E 42-Millimeter Touchscreen Smartwatch. This smartwatch comes from the previous generation sold by Fossil but still provides plenty of noteworthy features, including contactless payment and access to hundreds of lifestyle and social media apps.
Samsung smartwatches are versatile and powerful devices built to be an extension of a smartphone as well as a fitness tracker. Samsung smartwatches are on their fourth generation and are compatible with Android and iOS devices. All of their smartwatches use a version of Wear OS powered by Samsung.
The biggest advantage that Samsung has over Fossil is the actual performance of its smartwatches. With 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, Samsung offers a more powerful smartwatch capable of running multiple apps simultaneously without any glitches or lag. Samsung smartwatches also boast a more powerful battery that outlasts the latest Fossil models.
In addition to this, Samsung smartwatches come with a wider number of health tracking options, including ECG and body composition features that can measure basal metabolic rate and skeletal muscle mass.
Samsung supports LTE connectivity, allowing the smartwatch to surf the web independently of its connection to a mobile device.
The largest downside is the base price of Samsung’s smartwatch models. Their classic models of their newest smartwatch can cost around $100 more than a Fossil smartwatch, putting it out of budget for many potential buyers. However, Samsung offers a more affordable option in its newest generation of smartwatches.
Samsung smartwatches come with less strap and style options, which may dissuade some buyers who more heavily consider fashion as a major factor. Samsung doesn’t make gender-specific smartwatches, which could also contribute to some users choosing Fossil instead.
The newest model from Samsung is Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42-Millimeter Smartwatch. This smartwatch is loaded with all the new features from the company and is capable of connecting directly to the internet from its internal software.
The most affordable smartwatch in the newest line is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 40-Millimeter Smartwatch. This device actually costs less than the newest generation of Fossil smartwatches while still offering incredibly powerful daily performance.
Fossil smartwatches provide users incredibly stylish designs and a clean and functional piece of hardware that will likely make any buyer happy. With low costs and great connection to multiple devices, Fossil smartwatches are a solid option.
However, the wider capabilities of the Samsung smartwatch alongside the LTE connectivity puts it over the top. Furthermore, the biggest detractor, a more expensive price tag, is invalidated with the more affordable options offered by the company in its newest generation of products.
Both devices work well for most users, but Samsung smartwatches simply offer more and do so at a comparable price point.
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Tom Price writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
