Fossil Quits Wear OS
After staying quiet for a year and amid speculation, Fossil Group surprised everyone by revealing that it’s quitting the smartwatch industry. They won’t be making smartwatches anymore. Instead, the company plans to use its resources to concentrate on its traditional businesses, such as watches, jewellery, and leather goods.
As the smartwatch landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years, we have made the strategic decision to exit the smartwatch business. Fossil Group is redirecting resources to support our core strength and the core segments of our business that continue to provide strong growth opportunities for us: designing and distributing exciting traditional watches, jewelry, and leather goods under our own as well as licensed brand names.” [Amanda Castelli, Fossil via The Verge & 9to5Google]
In recent years Google, the makers of Wear OS, has rekindled interest and investment in the watch-based software through its internal development of Wear OS 3 and a major partnership with Samsung. However, in the years prior to that, not so much happened and Fossil was the stand-out company offering Wear OS across several of the brands it owned. Its exit leaves a large gap in the Wear OS market.
There were rumours of a Facebook/Meta smartwatch and also that Meta would buy Fossil to kickstart its entry into smartwatches. Both those rumours died off, although there have recently been suggestions that Meta’s interest in smartwatches is not yet truly dead in the water. Perhaps those old rumours might resurface if Meta has been trying to do a deal to acquire some of Fossil’s people and tech. We’ll find out about that very soon, if true.
Others point to a more definitive extinction for Fossil. It has historically been an exhibitor at CES but was notably absent in Jan 2024 and rumours towards the back end of 2023 suggested that Fossil’s retail employees may have already been told that the company would no longer make new smartwatches.
If we add to that the fact that the last Fossil smartwatch was its Gen 6 model in 2021, then this year would have needed a significant investment in Gen 7 and the Snapdragon W5 Plus chipset it needs. That investment was clearly not forthcoming but it is widely hoped that Fossil will continue to support watches already sold.
Maybe the writing on the wall was earlier still? Once Google and Samsung buddied up, it was clear that new major software versions were to be initially used by Google and Samsung…and specifically not by Fossil. As I said at the time, this left Fossil somewhat in the lurch. Perhaps Fossil’s exit and exclusive access to software was part of Samsung’s price for supporting Google? There’s probably some truth there.
Going Forwards
Android phone owners looking for a smartwatch partner have now had their choices significantly reduced. Maybe that’s a good thing? After all, if you’re buying an Apple Watch you aren’t exactly spoilt for choice. Maybe customers’ minds need better focussing on Pixel and Galaxy and then maybe on Fitbit and Garmin for more active users.
Fossil will continue to make fashion brand watches like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Diesel etc. but this site focuses on non-fashion so I’ll leave you hanging on this point!
Thoughts & Opinion
There is always an element of shock when this sort of thing happens. As I’ve written about it from time to time over the last three years I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked…but I still am!
It seems likely to me that Fossil knew they had no future in Wear OS way back in 2021. It’s just taken a while to extricate themselves from their commitments. alongside that, why would Samsung jump from its own ship (Tizen) to Google’s (Wear OS) without guarantees and sweeteners? Exclusive access to new software and the elimination of one of the biggest competitors is a pretty big pair of sweeteners.
The stage is set for Apple vs Google/Samsung/Fitbit. Maybe Garmin will get a walk-on role but any other Wear OS players will be taking their seats in the audience and playing no real part in what is to come. The acts need to heat up and the players on the non-Apple side of things need to learn their lines, improvise better and generally up their game.
And Garmin?
Garmin is mostly irrelevant here unless they decide to make a Wear OS watch. Which is always possible, but…
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Good news depends largely on the sales figures of Fossil.
If they sell millions of watches a year, there is a large group of customers to conquer. If they sell thousands of watches a year, Garmin, Samsung and/or Apple just shrug their shoulders.
Seeing Fossil give up, it’s probably closer to thousands
I did look for some market share figures but didn’t easily find the ones i wanted.
from memory recent total market shares are 2% which must be a sizeable amount that’s certainly more than thousands and defintiely less than millions!
slightly older stats in my mind were something like a 20% share of Wear OS back in the day. it might even have been more than that.