At first glance, the Fossil Gen 5E is a very appealing smartwatch. It is reasonably priced, has a great design, is a smaller case than the Fossil Gen 5, and covers the majority of the functions that casual exercisers will require.

Good design

The Fossil Gen 5E combines good looks with adequate performance. It has a metal strap that holds the AMOLED circular touchscreen with slim bezels on a 44mm stainless steel case, as well as a crown on the right that wakes up the watch. This smartwatch has a premium appearance thanks to its black finish. The body is also not too bulky, and the sensors are located at the bottom. The stainless steel straps enhance its visual appeal and set it apart in the lifestyle smartwatch category.

Great display

The 1.19-inch screen isn’t ideal for watching videos, but it’s ideal for displaying information at a glance. The 390 x 390-pixel resolution is sufficient and pleasingly colorful. It is also easily legible in direct sunlight. However, unlike the Fossil Gen 5, the crown does not rotate. The aluminum case that houses the AMOLED display feels premium to the touch.

Fitness tracking system

The Fossil Gen 5E adds some much-needed features to its stable of pre-loaded apps, such as Cardiogram—a heart rate-focused app—and the free version is fairly comprehensive if you want to keep track of your cardio fitness. You can only select an unspecified outdoor exercise or an indoor activity via the widget, and it appears to default to running metrics in both cases.

Snapdragon Wear 3100 is out of date

The Snapdragon Wear 3100 SoC powers the Gen 5E, with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. This is an old processor that even Fossil’s fitness tracking system uses to save battery life, but it is very basic and out of date. There are only two workout options: indoor and outdoor, and the screen displays time elapsed, distance, and heart rate data.

No built-in GPS

The Gen 5E lacks built-in GPS, so it’s not ideal for serious athletes, but Google Fit is included if you want more targeted tracking and Google services. It also accepts contactless payments via Google Pay, but tap-to-pay is not supported.

Sensors can’t measure blood oxygen levels

Despite having a lot of sensors, the smartwatch can’t measure SPO2 (blood oxygen levels), unlike most smartwatches, even the cheap ones. Its inability to measure SPO2 and slightly erratic step counter make it unsuitable as a performance watch.

Efficient Trackers

The watch accurately records daily activity, but it is slightly erratic in recording daily steps. When you begin an activity, the smartwatch connects to the phone’s GPS in less than a second. The GPS usually tracks your location accurately. A speaker and microphone are also included for taking calls, receiving notification alerts, and interacting with Google Assistant. However, the heart rate monitor is effective and precise. Furthermore, if you use the watch during fitness activity, it measures a significant amount of information.

Built-in speaker

It includes a built-in speaker and microphone, allowing you to answer phone calls directly from the watch. When paired with your smartphone, the Fossil Gen 5e will allow you to respond to all notifications. The Wear OS also suggests basic responses, making it easier to respond to a few messages. If you don’t want to open a small keyboard and type a message, you can send a text message with your voice. While receiving calls with the watch is simple in quiet areas, it becomes difficult when there is a lot of activity around you. In addition, it is frequently difficult for the watch to recognize voice commands in noisy environments.

Decent Battery life

The Fossil Gen 5E also offers an on-battery time of about a day on a single charge, sometimes less if you are utilizing most of the features this watch offers. The watch has smart battery modes to extend on-battery time, but this means that some features are missing that some people may not like. It takes about an hour to fully charge the watch.

Plenty of Watch faces

The Fossil Gen 5E has a plethora of watch face options. If you run out of options, you can also download third-party Watch Face apps. The Watch Faces available in the Wear OS app cannot be customized. This option, however, is available in a few third-party apps.