There are games that people play. Why must dreams, creative impulses, instincts, ambitions, desires, wants, and even technology remain far behind? We know the way technology has played games with us all by making surprise entries with innovations that have surprised and sometimes bewildered us. No, there was no ‘shattering disorientation brought about’ as the human mind does one thing rather well – it expects the unexpected. However, how many generally expect luxury and fashion to get inextricably involved with technology that is considered to be less wild and whirling? But it does. In its own charming way. Take the example of Fossil that has decided to launch an entire sublime thesis on the future of the wrist.
The future of the wrist?
Yes. You have read correctly. Fossil says that they are in the game that technology has gifted mankind and are here to stay. Who says technology must remain rooted to the ground and always be only about performance and never an insane titillation of the cerebral region? The Fossil Group has launched its next generation of smartwatches across brands – Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatch Venture HR and Explorist HR for Fossil, Skagen Falster 2 for Skagen, Michael Kors Access Runway for Michael Kors, Emporio Armani Connected for Emporio Armani, A|X Armani Exchange Connected for Armani Exchange and Diesel Full Guard for Diesel. So there you are… these watches are all about technology features encased in exquisitely crafted designs which means there is a seamless merger of functionality with style.
It is no longer essential to go out wearing watches that look beguiling but stare dumbly when you want to peer into them to see your heart-rate or if it has a count of how many steps you have taken. These watches are smarter than you can imagine and are not intimidated by complex terminology of the geeks. These watches daintily whisper, ‘Hey! We’re powered with Wear OS by Google and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 2100 Platform.’
‘What? Really?’
‘Yes, and we offer enhancements to every facet of the day, with hardware including Heart-Rate Tracking, Untethered GPS, Swimproof Functionality and much more.’
It is time to cease to be surprised by the fact that even fashion brands have dived into the tech cauldron and are brimming with luxurious pride at having the ability to make room for customization from strap to dial. One of these watches smiled and added, ‘Well, you can also install third party apps to have a better device experience. You can set social media photos as watch face backgrounds and charge the watch in less than an hour to last all day.’
Well then, I guess that the time for fashion to gallop with technology is poised to offer solutions that converge the two hemispheres of the brain or bring the heart and the mind to walk hand-in-hand. Gautam Sharma, Vice President Brand Strategy – APAC informed us that fashion and technology will be playing this game together and that the Fossil group would keep ‘adding significant features in terms of technology, without compromising our design ethos.’
A fashionable ride for technology
Fossil Smartwatches where fashion and technology meet seamlessly.
My heart tells me that technology loves this new ride that fashion has offered and the users will love the fact that these watches have dials that allow easy access to manual readings directly from their watch face. You don’t even have to carry your smartphone with you as you go out jogging or are exercising in the gym so long as you are logged on to Google Fit. The technology in these watches goes a step beyond normal perceptions and allows a user to track heart rate across multiple types of workouts and improves the workout tracking experience by showing progress through heart rate graphs. If this sounds too dull for a fashion and luxury brand, you must know that the Fossil innovative addition is that dials have heart rate integrated into the designs, showing users their beats per minute on their watch face at a glance. You must also check out the most popular Invicta watches for men at Times Ticking’s website.
There is then the advantage of untethered GPS which means one doesn’t have to necessarily carry a smartphone while on a jog or exercising. By the way, this doesn’t mean an exerciser or jogger has to be without music to listen to… because music files can be downloaded easily. The watches that this review is talking about are all swim-proof and are thus safe even inside the pool.
The officially declared features include:
- Stainless steel case (Venture HR: 40mm / Explorist HR: 45mm)
- Stunning touchscreen digital display
- 24+ hours battery life (based on usage)
- Interchangeable straps and bracelets (Venture HR: 18mm / Explorist HR: 22mm)
- Connect via Bluetooth® technology
- Wireless syncing + magnetic charging
- Compatible with iOS 9.3+ and Android 4.4+ (excluding Go edition)
- Sensors: Heart Rate, GPS, Altimeter, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Ambient Light, Microphone
- Powered with Wear OS by Google
- Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 2100 Platform
The company rightly believes that with fashion and technology coming together the discerning amongst the masses will prefer the brands in this review and they will be able to impress the 462 million active internet users in India today of which 47.2 percent are under 25. They expect this fashionably crafted and technologically amplified mind set of youngsters with enough disposable income to help them double their sales figures by 2021. All that I can say for now is that even fashion-embedded watches are no longer tech-challenged… though I personally would prefer to wait to win one as an appreciation of my work done.
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Fossil smartwatches – in the game and here to stay
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Arvind Passey
18 December 2018
