Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Fossil had recently announced that it would exit the Wear OS smartwatch market, though it would keep its existing Wear OS watches updated for the “next few years.”
- The company recently held a stock clearance sale, and all of its smartwatches are now sold out.
- You can no longer officially buy a Fossil smartwatch with Wear OS, completing the company’s exit from the market.
Apple has cornered the smartwatch market with watches like the Apple Watch Series 9, and Google had some catching up to do with Wear OS. Before the Pixel Watch and the OnePlus Watch 2 came along, Fossil had been holding down the fort with its lineup of great Wear OS smartwatches, providing Android users with some competitive options. Unfortunately, Fossil recently announced its decision to quit the smartwatch market, and now that time has come.
As spotted by DroidLife, you can no longer officially purchase a Wear OS smartwatch from Fossil. Recently, Fossil had a stock clearing sale, with their Wear OS smartwatches dropping down to $79 (with the known caveat that the company is exiting the market). And now that the stock has cleared, they no longer have any Wear OS smartwatches or hybrid smartwatches on sale.
Fossil assured that their existing Wear OS watches would be updated for the “next few years.” We’ll have to wait and see how that pans out.
The report notes that Google shares some blame for Fossil’s exit from the market. Google’s deal with Samsung to grant them exclusivity with Wear OS 3 (while they worked on it together and shipped it on the Galaxy Watch 3) meant that Wear OS survived. However, other Wear OS watchmakers, like Fossil, were forced to sell smartwatches that were a full OS version behind the competition for a whole year. Google also does not have a dedicated Wear OS companion app, so watchmakers have to create their own companion app, adding to the complexity of selling the hardware and keeping it updated.
Fossil’s exit was surprising, but not so much for anyone watching this space closely. Wear OS smartwatches are starting to make a return now, but Fossil had been drawing the short end of the stick during the low phases of Wear OS for a while now.
Fossil’s role as the protector of Wear OS in its darkest days shall forever remain in our collective memories. Fossil stood as tall as The Wall of Westeros, saving Android users from the monopoly of Apple Watches taking over their realm and converting everyone into an iPhone user. With the last few Fossil smartwatches finally sold out, it’s time to say, “And now his watch is ended.”
