The collection of available smartwatches keeps growing as more people warm up to the idea of adopting one to accompany their smartphones, and as Android Wear becomes more robust, more options will continue to flow in for consumers. This also means that more manufacturers are going to end up hopping on board to offer traditional looking timepieces that aren’t sacrificing too much form for function. Enter Fossil’s Q Founder Android Wear smartwatch, announced earlier this year and is now officially available to buyers at the price of $295 for the steel model. This is currently the only one available, although, the Q Founder with the leather strap is listed as coming soon and will cost $20 less, coming in at $275.
To date, this is the most normal looking smartwatch out there, and you’d be really hard pressed to tell the difference between this and a normal watch at a glance. This is no doubt thanks to Fossil’s years of experience in making watches, and if you’re looking for something that barely stands out as a piece of tech but still delivers on functionality, this is it. On the inside things aren’t too different from other Android Wear smartwatches, although it is only the second device on the platform to come powered by an Intel chip so far, with TAG Heuer’s luxury ‘Connected’ Android Wear watch being the other.
The Q Founder has 4GB of internal storage, a 400mAh battery which Fossil states should last up to 24 hours, although time will vary depending on how consumers use the watch, and when it needs a charge you can simply set it on the wireless charging base that’s plugged in. It’s also rated as dust tight and waterproof up to 1 meter thanks to the IP67 rating, and while you’re likely not going to take the watch swimming, it’ll be fine from liquid splashes and rain so you can wear it without worry. Although this model comes with the steel band, the bands are interchangeable and Fossil already offers a few different styles of straps in the Q collection for $30. You can already order the Q Founder in steel from the website if you’re in the U.S., and it should be available at Fossil retail stores as well.
