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Fossil Q Founder review: Fossil misses the mark with its first Android Wear watch

Fossil's first Android Wear smartwatch features a stainless steel case and a metal band, but the short battery life and odd display have us wishing for more.

Dan Graziano Associate Editor / How To
Dan Graziano is an associate editor for CNET. His work has appeared on BGR, Fox News, Fox Business, and Yahoo News, among other publications. When he isn't tinkering with the latest gadgets and gizmos, he can be found enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City.
Dan Graziano
5 min read

The first watch I owned was a Fossil. It was a beautiful stainless steel timepiece that I wore throughout high school. It's been almost 15 years since I unwrapped it on Christmas morning, and while I no longer wear it, it still works just as it did that cold day in December.

6.1

Fossil Q Founder

The Good

The watch looks good (for a big watch) and runs the latest version of Android Wear. It includes an ambient light sensor for automatically adjusting display brightness.

The Bad

It's big and bulky. Weaker battery life than competitors. Android Wear software runs slowly and lacks finesse. No heart-rate sensor. Display isn't a complete circle. No custom apps. Included charger is absurd.

The Bottom Line

The Fossil Q Founder looks nice from a distance, but it's not the best Android Wear watch -- and, there are better options for prospective smartwatch buyers.

It's only fitting that years later I would once again unwrap a Fossil watch on a cold December morning. The Fossil Q Founder looks similar to that watch I held near and dear, but behind the beautiful exterior is a flawed product: a mediocre Android Wear watch.

There are too many watch manufacturers all making smartwatches at the same time, and the problem with Fossil's return to the smartwatch landscape is that its good looks are only skin-deep. This watch doesn't do anything better than similar smartwatches you can get for the same amount or less, and it's not even more nicely designed than some. It suffers buggy performance and poorer battery life.

The Fossil Q Founder is available for $275 (which converts to about £180 and AU$380) with a leather strap or $295 (£195, AU$405) with a stainless steel link band (the model I reviewed). It's a bit less expensive than my favorite Android Wear watches, the Huawei Watch and Moto 360, but it's not as good, either. I like Fossil watches, but I wouldn't recommend this one.

Hands-on with the Fossil Q Founder (pictures)

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Design: Beautiful, yet flawed

There's no shortage of nicely designed smartwatches. Two of our favorites -- the Huawei Watch and Moto 360 -- feature stainless steel casing and circular displays. On the surface, the Fossil Q Founder looks like it can compete. Its stainless steel casing feels strong, and the crown resembles a traditional watch (even though it doesn't spin, and is only a button).

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Most people weren't aware I was even wearing a smartwatch. But the Q Founder isn't for everyone. It's big (46mm diameter) and heavy. I like big watches. Not everyone does.

Things start to fall apart when you get a little bit closer. The screen isn't a complete circle: at the bottom of the 1.5-inch 360x326-pixel resolution display sits a black bar that houses an ambient light sensor, just like the Moto 360. The result isn't attractive.

The display also isn't as crisp as I would like. Images and text look pixelated. The 1.4-inch 400x400-pixel resolution display on the Huawei Watch looks much better, trust me.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

The Q Founder is powered by an Intel Atom processor, rather than the Qualcomm chips found in many other Android Wear watches. It doesn't seem to fare well: the watch suffered noticeable lag as I swiped through different screens. On more than one occasion I was forced to reboot.

Aside from the Intel processor and additional RAM, the Founder is like every other Android Wear device. It has 4GB of storage for music and apps, Wi-Fi to function when your phone is left behind, and both an accelerometer and gyroscope for tracking steps and distance. But it's one of the few that doesn't include an optical heart-rate sensor. There's also no GPS for tracking pace and distance when running or cycling.

This isn't a sport watch, it's a fashion one.

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Enlarge Image
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The Fossil Q Founder (middle) compared to the Moto 360 (left) and the Huawei Watch (right).

Sarah Tew/CNET

Same old Android Wear

Android Wear continues to be the Achilles' heel of many smartwatches, and the Q Founder is no exception. The watch can display personalized Google Now cards with information on weather, transportation, sporting events and more. It will also mirror the notifications you receive on your smartphone.

You can customize which notifications appear on the watch, but there is really no control over the personalized cards, and most of the time these alerts aren't very helpful. Right now the watch is telling me that a new episode of "Modern Family" will air on ABC tonight. That's great, and I really like the show, but is this something I need to be shown during the workday? Of course not.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Earlier this year, Google added limited functionality for iPhone users to Android Wear. While you can view notifications and get those same Google Now cards, the experience leaves you wanting more. At this time, iPhone users aren't able to use third-party apps, access Wi-Fi, or respond to contacts right from their wrist. If you own an iPhone, get an Apple Watch. It's a much better experience.

Aside from a couple of custom watchfaces (none of which are very memorable), Fossil also didn't do anything to make the Founder stand out. The Moto 360 includes Motorola's fitness-centric MotoBody software, while the Huawei watch is preloaded with more than 40 customizable watch faces and a Huawei fitness app. I expected more from Fossil.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Battery life

The 400mAh battery on the Founder will last you a single day, and not much longer. I removed the device from the charger on Monday at 3:30pm, by Tuesday at the same time it was down to 5 percent, and by 4 p.m. it was dead. That's 24 and a half hours, to be exact.

Ambient mode (also known as an always-on display, which can be turned off) was turned on and brightness was set to automatic. The Founder performed worse than the Moto 360 and Huawei Watch, both of which lasted roughly a day and a half with similar settings. These results are also considerably worse than the Pebble Time Steel, which lasts a full week (but is a whole different type of watch).

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Poor battery life aside, what really frustrated me the most was the charging method. Fossil's watch features wireless charging, but rather than using a simple dock like the Moto 360, the Founder has a bulky watch pad that at first glance looks like something you may throw out. Don't! This weird, bulky, padded charger needs to be used to charge the watch, and there's no other option offered.

The watch would occasionally seem to work with my Qi-compatible Energizer Dual Inductive Charger, but got very hot in the process. I wouldn't recommend it at all.

Should you buy it?

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Sarah Tew/CNET

I'm left with nothing but disappointment from the Fossil Q Founder. It's a beautifully made watch on the outside, and it's competitively priced compared to other smartwatches, but it has too many shortcomings. You can do better. If you're an iPhone owner, get an Apple Watch. Android users, get a Samsung Gear S2, Huawei Watch, or Moto 360.

And Fossil fans, just get a regular Fossil watch and skip the smart stuff for now.

6.1

Fossil Q Founder

Score Breakdown

Design 7Battery 5Performance 6Software 6Features 6