Somehow I wasn't impressed with the Fossil Q Marshal. The lack of GPS, non-existent heart rate sensor, and poor display didn't really make it a good smartwatch. Now Fossil has presented the Q Venture and Q Explorist. They should be able to do that.
The similarities
Housing
Both models of the third generation still come in the classic watch design. In addition, there will be different versions of the watch in terms of design. The height of both watches is lower compared to their predecessors. Unfortunately, the display bezels have grown as a result. Too bad. Fortunately, the housing is splash-proof according to IP67. You can also choose between leather or metal bracelets for both models.
Specs
Both watches have similar specs to their predecessors. That means that everything inside is powered by a Snapdragon Wear 2100 with 512GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The whole thing is shown on an AMOLED display with Android Wear 2.0. This is a good thing because the colors of the display on the previous generation smartwatches were not world famous, as there was no such display on them. Still, the crucial things are missing again. GPS, NFC and pulse sensors are not found here either. Extreme shame. The Moto 360, which is in the same price range, has a pulse sensor and GPS for comparison.
The quirks
Q venture
With the 42mm display diagonal, the Fossil Q Venture is aimed more at women. The case of this watch is still quite thin at 11,5mm from my point of view. The specialty of the case is that there is a button on the right side of the watch. I can imagine that you can get back to the watchface through this in every app. Unfortunately, you can only attach 18mm watch straps to the Q Venture. This means that you cannot simply use every bracelet. In many cases these are 22mm tapes.
Q explorist
The Fossil Q Explorist is aimed at men with its 44mm display diagonal. The case of this watch is 12,6mm thick. In general, I believe that this model will be really big in reality. In addition to a possible home button, there are two additional buttons on the side. I could imagine that you can assign a frequently used app to each of them. As for the straps of the watch, you can also use larger 22mm watch straps.
Conclusion
Fossil has once again forgotten the beautiful things. The fact that things like GPS or the heart rate sensor are missing is really not nice. A clear advantage is that Android Wear 2.0 is installed ex works on the watch. I also suspect that many men resort to the Q Venture because the case of the Q Explorist could be really thick. You still have to give the company credit for the fact that this watch looks amazing in the pictures. Fossil calls for an RRP of € 255 for their Q Venture and an RRP of € 275 for the Q Explorist. In my opinion, these prices are not justified, as they cannot do much more than their predecessors.
I can do without the fitness crap. I do not need that. I can't wear it in my sport and after training I pretty much know what I've done. My focus is more on a chic watch that is particularly suitable for messaging. Don't always dig at the phone in meetings, a quick glance at the watch is enough to see whether it was important or not. It would be nice if things got thinner.
Then one of these two watches is perfect for you, right?
Best regards,
David from TechnikNews