Fossil on Tuesday announced its first fully sports-oriented Android Wear smartwatch in the form of the Q Control, a wearable with a traditional aesthetic inspired by athletic apparel from the early ’90s. The Richardson, Texas-based consumer electronics manufacturer is targeting its latest product at outdoorsy people and those looking to take their fitness tracking game to the next level, having delivered a device that’s both versatile and highly compact. The Fossil Q Control has a 20mm silicone strap that’s easily interchangeable, with its 45mm circular case being light on details, designed to prioritize function over form. The case is 14mm thick and appears to be as compact as one would come to expect from a contemporary, fitness-oriented smartwatch.
The newly announced gadget is powered by the Qualcomm Wear 2100 and features 4GB of internal flash memory, as well as a battery that’s estimated to last through an entire day on a single charge but whose capacity has yet to be specified. Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS are supported by Fossil’s new offering, but NFC isn’t, though the watch does come with a touch-enabled bezel, in addition to featuring a standard touch display. Android Wear 2.0 is also part of the Q Control package, ennobled with some of Fossil’s proprietary watch faces. As expected, the wearable can connect to the vast majority of contemporary smartphones, being compatible with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, iOS 9.0, and later versions of two of the most popular mobile operating systems in the world. Besides a number of custom overlays, the software package pre-installed on the Fossil Q Control is virtually identical to what other modern Android Wear devices are offering, including support for standalone apps and the Google Assistant.
The Fossil Q Control is priced at $275 and is already available for purchase directly from the wearable maker, though it has yet to make its way to Amazon. Only the Gunmetal variant of the smartwatch has been confirmed by Fossil so far and it’s currently unclear whether more models are in the works. Fossil’s brick-and-mortar stores should start offering the Q Control by the end of the week and most will have it in stock starting today.
Buy The Fossil Q Control
