Smart bracelet and connected watch also on show at IDF15
We’ve known for sometime now that a smartwatch born out of a partnership between Intel and Fossil was in the works, and now we’ve had our first glimpse of the Android Wear device over in San Francisco at IDF15.
Looking a heck of a lot like the Moto 360, complete with a chunky chassis and that ever-so-annoying flat tyre at the bottom of the circular display, the Fossil Android Wear smartwatch was revealed alongside a duo of other Intel powered connected devices.
The first being a regular looking watch with connected features, a la the Withings Activité, and the other being a connected band that looks a bit like the Huawei TalkBand B2.
Essential reading: Top smartwatches for 2015
The connected watch ties in with what Fossil CEO Kosta Kartsotis said earlier this month when he stated the company’s most important category of wearable, in the long term, would be its existing watches made smarter.
Kartsotis said, “What we call smarter watches which is just adding chips and extra functionality to existing watches”; i.e. analogue wristwatches that track activity and provide users notifications.
“To a certain extent you could say what we’re doing is moving towards where some day every watch we make will have some type of technology in it,” he said. “We believe a branded fashion experience will be the catalyst to further accelerate the connected accessory trend and that we are uniquely positioned to leverage our capabilities and technology partnerships to be a leader in this space.”
Back to the Android Wear smartwatch and Fossil is the second traditional watch brand to team up with Intel in this area. Earlier this year at Baselworld, Tag Heuer’s Android Wear smartwatch was revealed, and is set to go on sale in October or November for $1,400.
There’s no price or release date for the Fossil smartwatch as of yet but, as ever, we’ll keep you posted.
We should also expect Michael Kors and Emporio Armani branded smartwatches and smart jewellery by the end of the year – the Fossil Group licenses these accessory brands.
Image credit: Engadget
