Earlier this month Fossil announced it would be coming out with the Gen 5 LTE smartwatch that runs on Wear OS, and that it would be available through Verizon Wireless.
The watch, which was supposed to be launching “sometime this Spring” according to the official announcement, is actually available as of today on the Verizon website. And it’s likely that the physical retail stores will have them too.
The Fossil Gen 5 LTE is just like the original Fossil Gen 5, except this one you can buy from Verizon and it has LTE data connectivity. Which means you can leave the smartphone at home if you go out for a run and still want to use the internet-required features that the watch offers.
Verizon is selling the Fossil Gen 5 LTE in two different colors
Whether you muster the courage and the strength to head into a Verizon store physically or order online, you can pick up the watch in two different colors. That’s assuming the retail locations have any in stock to begin with.
Even if local carrier stores don’t have them though, you can still get the watch online right now. Verizon has both the Black and Pink models of the watch available. And it retails for $349.99.
If you don’t want to pay for the whole thing outright, Verizon will let subscribers attack the watch to their bill and break up the payments. This amounts to $14.54 a month for two years before it’s officially paid off. Though, at any point you could just pay the remaining balance, too.
You need an Android device to use the LTE features
As noted in the original announcement, you can buy this watch and use it like any other Wear OS smartwatch even if you use an iOS device.
But if you want to utilize the LTE features you need to pair it with an Android smartphone. Which makes this a little less useful for iOS phone owners. That also suggests that Fossil and/or Verizon may be trying to attract the Android crowd specifically for this device.
With the LTE engaged, you can use the Fossil Gen 5 LTE for up to 20 hours. Or you can let it sit for up to three days in standby. Though if you’re letting it sit for three days on a regular basis, you may not have much use for a smartwatch.
Since this runs on Wear OS it works with features and services like Google Pay, the Play Store, Spotify music control and more.