Fossil’s Q Marshal unisex smartwatch – stylish and practical, but with some shortcomings
A short battery life, lack of heart rate monitor and heavy weight are negatives for a product already up against it in a market dominated by smartphones and dwindling watch wearers
There’s no spinning this: the smartwatch industry is in deep trouble. Global shipments fell nearly 52 per cent in the third quarter of 2016, a figure that includes underperforming Apple Watch – if even the Cupertino giant with the fervent fanbase can’t make it, who can?
But Fossil isn’t letting up. The American watchmaker recently released two new smartwatches that aim to track fitness, bridge the gap between you and your Android smartphone (is that even necessary when everyone’s glued to their phone these days?), add some style to your outfit, and of course, tell the time.
We gave the larger and more unisex of the two watches, the Q Marshal, a trial run.
Hardware and design The Q Marshal is beautifully crafted and unapologetically chunky: its case is 45mm wide and 14mm thick, with a tachymeter-style ring (which adds extra bulk despite the ring offering no function) that wraps around the face. This is a watch that makes no pretensions about being a sleek IoT (Internet of Things) gadget; it aspires to be a classic timepiece that people who care about wearing cufflinks and tie clips admire.