Fossil Q Carlyle Gen 5 Review
Smartwatches are revolutionising the way we think about wearables and, of course, watches. Gone are the days when the simplest information was transmitted and displayed through a meshing of gears and the development of springs.
Now all this data and more can be had at your fingertips, or wrist to be more precise. And it's not just tech companies cashing in on this new wearable technology craze. Traditional watchmaking companies and high fashion houses are too, with industry giants like Hublot, Tag Heuer and Louis Vuitton jumping on the smartwatch bandwagon (although it's certainly no coincidence considering they're all under LVMH's wing), and even brands like Hermes, known for their exclusive leather work has started making specifically straps for apple watches.
These branded smartwatches and accessories are clearly crafted and designed to combine luxurious materials, design and craftsmanship with modern technology. But what if we want something fashionable and just as technologically capable, but without having to spend four figures on a fantastic smartwatch? Well don't worry, because the Fossil Carlyle Gen 5 FTW4024 is here to scratch that itch.
There's no getting around the fact that the Gen 5 Carlyle looks good. In fact, at a glance, it looks more like a traditional wristwatch than an actual smartwatch. Which is good, in my opinion. It keeps an incredibly useful piece of technology stylish and turns it into an actual accessory to your outfit rather than an afterthought. Available in a variety of different colors, straps and design variations and powered by Google's Wear OS, the Gen 5 Carlyle is as much a fashion statement as it is a useful piece of technology.
The one we're looking at from the Fossil line of smartwatches today is the FTW4024, in a rather sleek and stealthy brushed gunmetal finish; very cool. With a thickness of 12 mm and a width of 44 mm, it is by no means a small watch. But it is relatively slim, and will easily slip under a cuff.
The 1.28-inch AMOLED screen is sharp, clear and bright enough to be easily readable even under direct sunlight, thanks to the automatic adjustment as well. The display is always on by default, so you can see the time and your notifications at a glance. Wear OS offers various battery saving options that can change that setting, but we'll get into that later. The watch is available with many customizable "faces" right off the bat Fossil, and you can download hundreds more from the Google Playstore. The amount of customization that can be achieved with the watch along with its sleek stylish design truly makes this one of the best looking smartwatches on the market today.
The new Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle also manages to solve the poor performance and battery life issues of Wear OS in the past. Performance is good, if not relatively on par with Apple's Series 5 offerings, with no noticeable lag or drop in speed during general use. All of these are aided by 1Gb of RAM and the much newer Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor.
Battery life has also been improved along with performance and can last a full day in 'Daily Mode' which as we mentioned earlier keeps all the functions of the watch powered on. The watch comes with 3 battery management modes; Daily, extended and limited time only. Extended mode turns off some of the features, including always-on display, and keeps the watch running for a respectable 2 days, while time-only mode keeps it running much longer.
Wear OS has certainly improved over the past year. Although with everything there is still room for improvement, it certainly makes for a much more user-friendly experience now. Navigation is done by swiping the screen left and right, to the right for the Google Assistant and to the left for various widgets such as timers, Google Fit and a variety of widget options called Tiles. The quick settings can be accessed by swiping down, so you can activate aeroplane mode, adjust the volume, change the battery mode or access Google Pay. You can also change the watch face by long pressing it.
The list of apps can also be accessed by pressing down on the crown, and if you're already somewhere else, it will bring you back to the watch face. The interface is pretty easy to get to grips with, in typical Android fashion, by swiping left, right, up or down
The Fossil Q Carlyle Gen 5 is easily one of, if not the best, Wear OS smartwatches available on the market today. It solves the problem of performance and battery life with the upgraded processor and a number of available battery management options, along with a much improved and more intuitive operating system as well. It looks pretty good doing what it does too. With a wide variety of styles and colors available, you're sure to find that Carlyle will easily match your style every time.
Specifications
Display: 1.28 inch AMOLED (328 ppi)
Case size: 44/46 mm
Shear thickness: 12 mm
Flap width: standard 22mm
Processor: Qualcomm snapdragon wear 3100
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 8 GB
Operating system: Use OS
Water resistance: 30 meters (3ATM)
Sensors: altimeter, ambient light, gyroscope, heart rate, microphone, speaker NFC, GPS
Connection: Bluetooth 4.2, wifi
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