The king of all wearables is indisputably the Apple Watch Series 4 (for now), based on our countless reviews of smartwatches. Unfortunately, it does come at a steep price. If you want something far less pricey but is still stylish, chic, and multi-functional, you might want to check out the Fossil Q Explorist Gen 3 smartwatch.
This smartwatch is powered by Google’s Wear OS and is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. It is currently enjoying a 32% discount on Amazon, which brings its price from $225 down to $174 .
The Fossil Q Explorist, now in its third generation, resembles an analogue timepiece with its elegantly designed 12.5mm thick stainless-steel case that measures 46mm in diameter, which is painted with a combination of striking blue and silver. It also has a fancy-looking genuine leather strap that’s replaceable if you wish to change its appearance. It has an industrial charm to it, a chunkiness that men might appreciate. As a bonus, the Explorist has been engineered for water and weather resistance and has an IP67 rating, which means it can withstand particle intrusion or submersion in water for about 30 minutes. It is rugged but looks fashionable and can be worn in any type of setting.
The Explorist’s dial is a touchscreen and is customizable, and you can choose plenty of design options. You can make it appear like a mechanical or a digital watch. You can also choose the information that you want to be displayed on the dial, as well as adjust the background and accent colors. The watch also has three functional buttons on the side, with a center crown that rotates and is a key part of interface control.
Let’s explore the smartwatch’s features. Underneath the dial, the Explorist runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and 512MB of RAM. It also boasts 4GB of storage and supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. It has a built-in fitness tracker that keeps tabs on your physical activities, including how many steps you’ve accomplished, the distance you’ve covered, and the calories you’ve burned. It has notifications support that will keep you alerted of important texts, calls, social media messages, and emails. It is also capable of music playback control and wireless charging.
What keeps us from fully recommending the Explorist is its battery life. Fossil claims that the smartwatch has an estimated battery life of 24 hours, but using it only lasts a day, and two days is definitely out of the question. That means you must regularly charge it overnight, just like your smartphone.
The Fossil Q Explorist Gen 3 is a well-rounded, rugged and handsomely designed wearable that’s available on Amazon for only $174. If you’re not completely sold on it, check out this page for the best smartwatches for 2019. You can also check out the Fossil Sport and the Fossil Q Venture.
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