Fossil Group plans to leave the smartwatch business, and says the company will continue to keep its existing Wear OS watches updated “for the next few years”
Fossil Group has decided to call it quits on smartwatches. — The company announced this afternoon that it would leave …
It also changes Fossil’s role in the Wear OS ecosystem: rather than shipping future devices, the company says some of its R&D team will join Google.
First-order effects
Fossil will stop developing and selling new smartwatches, ending its direct participation as a Wear OS hardware brand.
Owners of existing Fossil Wear OS watches retain software-update support for the next few years, but no successor hardware is planned from Fossil.
Second-order effects
Google gains wearable R&D talent while losing a longstanding branded hardware partner, concentrating more of the platform’s product direction around the remaining device makers.
Fossil customers considering an upgrade will have to move to another smartwatch vendor, making ongoing support quality more important during the transition.
Third-order effects
If established watch brands continue to exit, Wear OS hardware could become more concentrated among fewer, more vertically committed manufacturers.
The case underscores a durable wearable-market divide: software support can outlast a device line, but it does not guarantee a continuing hardware roadmap.
The trend: Wearables are trending toward fewer hardware vendors with deeper platform ties, while legacy devices shift into long-tail software support.
It was smart of them to work together to enhance where OS to where it is, but they forgot to open the door back up and invite the other manufacturers back in to join in. Now I refuse to buy any other smartwatch outside of a pixel. Watch/ Galaxy watch because I know the OS will …
I think Google and Samsung working so closely together in getting the first relaunch of Wear OS probably left a lot of other smartwatch makers out in the cold.
Fossil getting out of the smartwatch business reminds me of how completely they dominate that industry. They sell the most watches (more than Casio) and make the most money (more than Rolex). Every iPhone accessory is an industry leader (see AirPods). https://www.theverge.com/...
A market for Apple Watches but not smart watches generally it seems this happens when products are not only new tech wise but carry some form of price premium
As a longtime Fossil aficionado... damn... They really did do such a great job with the second and third software generations, when the RAM requirements started getting really serious to keep up the performance. It's a real bummer to see them leave.
Friday news dump hits smartwatches. This is huge for the Android smartwatch space — Fossil almost single-handedly kept Wear OS going during the dark years. https://www.theverge.com/...