Fossil is partnering with Google to make its new companion app compatible with Wear OS 3

It has been interesting to watch Wear OS 3 transition to smart wearables and with each new piece of information, we can slowly understand what the big picture of Wear OS will look like. The latest information comes from Fossil, a popular Wear OS smartwatch OEM.

According to a Reddit thread, a Fossil representative provided an update on the status of the Fossil smartwatches with a recent overhaul of the smartwatch user interface and the newly released Fossil companion app. There is also a note on the transition to some smartwatches receiving a Wear OS 3 update and new devices arriving with the new software.

Secondly, we are pressing on the app to support our WearOS watches which will receive the WearOS 3 update later this year. “

The mention of Fossil watches getting Wear OS 3 “later this year” aligns with the timeframe offered nearly a year ago in the second half of 2022.

u / FossilGuy1111 explains that the rationale behind the new app was primarily that a new app would make it easier to retire old features and implement the new feedback received from Fossil users. The new app offers a newly designed user interface with a simpler interface and prepares smartwatches from brands to support Wear OS 3 on current and future wearables.

Fossil Gen 6

The Fossil employee explains that he is working with Google on the new Fossil app to be able to support the new wearable software. OEMs will be able to control the experience with their complementary apps instead of relying on the Wear OS app. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has a Samsung companion app, the Google Pixel Watch is expected to have its own app according to a recent leak, and Montblanc’s Summit 3 is also expected to have its own companion app.

This transition has proved to be a significant hurdle for OEMs and smartwatch manufacturers given how long it has been going on, but the upside will be that Wear OS will be a more viable competitor to the Apple Watch and that the default smartwatch experience for Android will be much closer to how the Apple Watch works with iPhone.

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