With a new platform developed with Samsung, Fossil is readying its own high-end watch running Google’s new watch software this fall.

A conversation over video chat with Fossil’s chief commercial officer Greg McKelvey and Steve Prokup, senior vice president of connected devices, helped clarify what Google and Samsung have already discussed: The upcoming wave of Android-compatible watches will be entirely new, with new chips focused on faster performance and better battery life. These watches will also offer LTE cellular options globally, and Fossil is looking to that global carrier expansion as a way to expand the watch’s appeal in more markets.

Fossil’s Gen 6 watch should have a similar feature set to Google and Samsung’s other future watch efforts. “All of the software benefits that Google’s talking about and launching with the unified platform is something we’ll be building into that as well,” McKelvey said.

But the next Fossil smartwatch may not be low-priced. “Premium” is the description that Google, Samsung, Fitbit and Fossil have all used, and that suggests pricing may line up with recent versions of the Apple Watch — which is also likely to have a new version in the fall.

Fossil’s hardware for its coming watches looks to be considerably more advanced: “We’ve got a full set of some pretty major hardware upgrades that we already planned,” Prokup said, hinting at faster performance, better battery life and potentially more advanced health features.

What’s still unclear is what types of buttons or crowns Fossil might use in its next Wear OS watch. Samsung has already committed to using its rotating bezel on its next Google OS-running Galaxy watch. It sounds like Fossil may continue to explore different combinations of buttons or spinning crowns, including on future Fossil Group watches running Wear OS.

“We’ve had, and still have, multiple configurations of buttons in the market at the same time, and that’s able to be supported,” Prokup says. “I think you’re still going to see a variety of offerings across even our products, as well as manufacturers ... not so much that you’re going to have a watch that ends up having four, five, six dedicated buttons or no buttons.” Prokup still sees the watch touchscreen being the key way to interact with buttons and crowns offering extra design flair and shortcuts.

Fossil’s smartwatch and connected hybrid watch lineup (a line of analog watches with Bluetooth connectivity) are extensive, but McKelvey says that the company’s premium watches have been the area of greatest success. Fossil aims to launch a single premium watch as its flagship for the new wave of Google watches, with other watch brands under Fossil Group likely developing their own variations. “We’re bringing great branded design to our customers that commands a premium price,” McKelvey says, arguing that a great product that innovates will be worth the price.

(SD-Agencies)