FOSSIL Gen 4 Smartwatch Explorist HR

urban hi-tech

FOSSIL Explorist HR is the answer to urban fashion in the 21st century, when all things are rapidly becoming smarter and complementing the capabilities of a smartphone. They have everything you need, but nothing specific: the watch is equipped with an NFC for contactless payments, a GPS module to simplify orientation in a big city, a microphone for interacting with a voice assistant, a large screen for displaying information from a smartphone and, of course, a set of tools for tracking physical activity. There are no highly specialized sports functions like a built-in trainer in this watch, everything is limited to a basic pedometer, calorie counter, heart rate monitor, and activity tracker.

Balance

Fossil designers have skillfully maintained a balance between classic and hi-tech, making the watch look equally appropriate with a classic suit or casual hoodie. They look really cool, especially with the brown leather strap. Well, the quality of materials and assembly is at the traditional high level for FOSSIL. Even though the Explorist HR is slightly smaller than the previous Fossil models, it is still quite a large men's watch. The company decided to move away from the unisex idea and released 2 similar models — this 45-inch Explorist is designed for men, while the more compact 40-inch Venture HR is designed with an eye on women.

Not the fastest processor

The Fossil Q Explorist HR is powered by a Snapdragon 2100 chip along with 512MB of RAM. And this is a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, most of the time the watch is pretty smooth and responsive. Especially if you use purely pre-installed software like Google Fit, a voice assistant, or Fossil's proprietary application. The problems start when you want to go further and start installing other applications from Google Play: some can work without a hitch, while others regularly slow down and can launch in 5 – 10 seconds. When you pay about $500 for such a gadget, you don't want to be nervous about lags. Moreover, the market already has enough smartwatches with a more powerful processor.

Splash and water protection

In terms of battery life, the watch does not grab the stars from the sky, but it does not graze the back ones either. With moderate use, they can stay afloat for 2 to 3 days. But it is worth actively using Bluetooth with GPS, as the battery will begin to melt before our eyes and is unlikely to live until the evening. The case of the device is protected to the maximum in accordance with the requirements of the IP67 standard, that is, they are not afraid of splashes and dust, but you should not swim in the pool in them.