If you saw the announcement this morning about Fossil’s new Gen 6 Wellness Edition watch being their first to run Wear OS 3, you might have wondered what that means on the Wear OS 3 front for the previously released Fossil Gen 6 line. I have good news – the update should start next week.
Fossil told me this afternoon that the original Gen 6’s Wear OS 3 update will arrive when the Wellness Edition launches on October 17. Since both watches are essentially the same, this makes a lot of sense. Actually, this watch is Identical in terms of features and specs, they just have different exterior styling.
There are a few items to be aware of when this big Wear OS 3 update appears. First, it will be optional for Fossil Gen 6 owners. This is optional as it requires you to factory reset your watch and then set it up again via Fossil’s recently updated companion app. If this is confusing, let me explain.
With Wear OS 3, Google is essentially retiring the Wear OS app that all Wear OS watches have used for setup and limited controls for years. Wear OS 3 requires watchmakers to release their own companion apps that run setup, adjust settings, and even perform tasks like managing watch faces. Same goes for Fossil and the original Gen 6. You’ll use the Wear OS app until you install the Wear OS 3 update. After installing it, you will then be moved to the Fossil app. Fossil doesn’t believe it will be a difficult switch or process to follow. You can download the Fossil app from Google Play here.
The second thing to know is that Google Assistant will not be included in the Wear OS 3 update. Fossil suggests that the current form of Google Assistant isn’t currently supported by Qualcomm’s chips, and there’s nothing they can do. It seems everyone is waiting for Google or Qualcomm to figure it out. You might remember that Samsung’s own Wear OS 3 watches recently got Assistant support The Pixel Watch definitely has access.
The last thing to note is that most of the Wellness Edition experience will join the original Gen 6 with this update outside of the new watch face. So if you’re considering an upgrade to get the wellness goodness, you really shouldn’t.
We asked Fossil if there will be a guide to help you update your Gen 6 and they told us there will be an FAQ somewhere to help or answer any questions you may have. Once we do, we’ll update this post.
For now, prepare yourselves for the big update, Gen 6 owners. We will let you know when it goes live