Earlier this week, Fossil came out of the woodwork to tease their upcoming Android Wear smartwatch, and even though we can’t get that good a look at it, it looks like well, a Fossil watch. With both Tag Heuer and now Fossil jumping on board the Android Wear train, it’s interesting to see where Android Wear could be headed next, and what these two big brands mean for Android Wear as a platform. We’ve known about the Tag Heuer watch for some time now, and the rumor is that it will be launching soon, with a hefty price tag attached to it, but the Fossil news is perhaps more intriguing. After all, Fossil have been creating quality, good-looking watches for both men and women for a long time now.
As we’ve recently seen with the Apple Watch and their new Hermes line, big brand names can draw in some much needed attention, but Android Wear is a whole different ballgame. It allows manufacturers like LG and Motorola to create their own hardware, while also offering a solid platform for apps and watch faces. The question is however, whether or not Android Wear will stay so vanilla on watches from big name fashion brands? After all, it’s easy to see that Google need these names onboard more than Fossil and Tag Heuer need a smartwatch OS. Adding their own watch faces and a few apps might not be enough for brands that have slowly carved a name for themselves over years of improving their brand and offering up better models.
With Fossil and Tag Heuer joining the Android Wear party, it could be a big shot in the arm for the platform. Having two well-known and respected watch brands choose your platform for their first smart offerings would give anyone more credibility and get Android on to the wrists of even more users. It’d be a big coup for Google and a stimulant for the whole ecosystem, LG and Motorola might be king of Android Wear right now thanks to the Watch Urbane and the Moto 360, but everyone will have to work harder if they want to stay relevant against fashion brands like these.