Fossil launched its first Wear OS 3 watch last week. The company is rolling out the Wear OS 3 update for patient owners of existing Gen 6 watches. The update has a few significant omissions, but one of the more surprising ones is an app that used to be on nearly every Wear OS 2 smartwatch. The app is not included in the new watch.
Fossil in r/WearOS was the first to confirm that the lack of Google Fit was true. There is a new system layer in Wear OS 3 called Wear Health Services that collects health data for apps in a more battery- efficient way. Quality control requires manufacturers to test and verify metrics regardless of hardware. It will ensure a more uniform experience across the platform in the long run. It's like people had to wait forever for Play Music to show up after they upgraded from Wear OS 2. Fossil is eager to see the Fitbit app for Wear OS 3 come to its watches in the future, but for now, it isn't an option. You will have to choose between Fossil'swellness app or a third-party app like Strava.
You can still download the Fit app on the Gen 6 orPixel watch. You can't actually use the app in any meaningful way. You will see a message that says Fit is not supported on the device.
It could be that an update is in the works. Since it is unclear if a separate Fitbit Wear OS 3 app is in the works or if it will remain a Pixel, it would be a boon to anyone who has an existing Wear OS 2 watch and doesn't want to buy a new one. Montblanc and Fossil are making their own health apps, which will sync with the API of the search engine, without the help of the two popular brands. When you could just download a fitness tracker, that was a big problem.
The Wear OS 3 upgrade won't include the internet assistant. Fossil said in a post that it is possible for owners of the company's watches to still use Amazon's voice assistant. There is no clear timetable at this time. This isn't the most surprising omission since the Montblanc Summit 3 also launched without the assistant. It took about a year for the Google Assistant to come to the watch. In the meantime, it gives users more of an incentive to pick up a phone from either of the two companies.
The Wear OS 3 upgrade won't include the internet assistant.
This last bit won't affect users of the other operating systems, but they won't be able to use the wallet at launch. The same thing happened to users of the Summit 3 and the Sense 2. Fossil is nerfed as a platform-agnostic smartwatch for the time being. It would have given Fossil a slight advantage, since neither theGalaxy Watches nor thePixel Watches support the mobile operating system. There isn't a reason for people to get an Apple Watch other than for the Apple Watch.
You shouldn't expect to see a watch from Fossil this year. The company decided against releasing a Gen 7 line due to supply chain issues. There wasn't much guidance for when Wear OS 3 would be ready for other devices. Fossil's has had to wait for a new flagship before. The Gen 6 transitioned from the Gen 5.
It is not known when the Wear OS 2 watches will get the Wear OS 3 upgrade. According to Ivy Chen Hunt, updates will be different by the original equipment manufacturer.
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