Fossil is expanding its fledgling wearables line with the launch of its first smart watch running the Android Wear OS.
Fossil joins a short list of companies offering Android Wear watches, including Asus, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony.
The new wearable is the Q Founder watch, which starts at $275 and is available in select Fossil stores and online. The company’s other wearables include smart watches and connected bracelets.
The watch, compatible with iOS and Android phones, comes with built-in activity tracker to track steps and runs. Its touchscreen displays caller ID, text, email and calendar notifications delivered via Bluetooth from a smartphone. It also displays data from such apps as flight trackers.
The steel watch responds to voice commands and displays a choice of preloaded watch faces, downloaded watch faces, and user-customized faces. It comes with wireless charging base.
“Technology is a major disruptor in many industries right now – even fashion,” said Jill Elliott-Sones, Fossil’s chief creative officer. “But to successfully merge the two, you need to have the fashion design expertise and focus on it first,” she said.
