Fossil Gen 5 vs Skagen Falster 3 A Stylish Smartwatch Showdown
Skagen vs Fossil Watch Brand Overview & Comparison
Skagen and Fossil are two watch brands that often get compared. However, any shoppers may not realize that Skagen has actually a subsidiary of Fossil since 2012. While they are owned by the same parent company, both Skagen and Fossil watches do compete side-by-side on style, quality, and price range.Skagens unique branding as a Danish watch brand with minimalist designs is what sets it apart. Fossil on the other hand has a wide variety of bestselling fashion watches including dress watches to bulkier Chronographs. In the smartwatch market, the two brands compete directly between the Fossil Gen 5 and the Skagen Falster 3. With their unique design and features, it is easy to see why these two brands under the same banner have developed an unofficial rivalry in the eyes of consumers.To help settle the score, we will be comparing a couple of their watch models head to head. We will analyze all aspects of their watches blow by blow and determine who has the superior overall watch.
History of Skagen
Skagen is a Danish-owned watch brand that began production in 1989. While the husband and wife founders, Henrik and Charlotte Jorst, are Danish, they kickstarted Skagen after moving to the US in 1987.It wasnt until they showcased their watch designs at a 1991 corporate gift fair where they finally caught a break. Impressed by Jorsts beautifully crafted watches, retailers encouraged the couple to launch their watches into the market. Thus, Skagen Denmark was born.By 1992, Skagen Denmark finally managed to break into the watch market and was able to sell a total of $800,000 worth of watches within that year. The 90s showed a steady incline for the Skagen brand. In 1995, their watches were showcased in Bloomingdales, New York. By 1998, the company has gone full circle as they are now selling their watches throughout Europe as well. Skagen also managed to open up an office in its home country of Denmark, followed up by opening up to 80 stores around the country as well.During the next couple of years, Skagen focused on expanding its reach to more countries in Europe. By 2007, Skagen has finally reached one of the biggest consumer markets in the world, Asia, with its distribution office breaking ground in Hong Kong. In 2010, the company made its debut within the online community by launching its official website, further boosting its popularity.Skagen Designs, Ltd. was acquired by the Fossil Group in 2012. Skagen has since continued with its ever-growing popularity within the younger generation of watch enthusiasts with their watchs streamlined and minimalist design. Learn more about Skagen watches here.
History of Fossil
Fossil is a fashion designer brand that produces a wide variety of products within the fashion industry. However, they are also well-known for their attractive line of watches. Fossil watches incorporate the Japanese quartz movement into most of their watches, with some watch series exceptions that feature the Swiss quartz movement.Fossil was founded in 1984 by Tom Kartosis who saw that the fashion watch industry was steadily gaining steam in the market. With just a handful of companies taking advantage of this growing interest in the market, Kartosis took the chance and began building the Fossil brand around this idea. The rest, as they say, is history.Fossil is regarded as one of the premier brands in the fashion watch category. Known for exquisite style and decent quality, Fossil has partnered with various designers in the industry when developing their timepieces.While watch aficionados will usually dismiss Fossil as a mostly sizzle with little steak watch, boy, oh boy it delivers a white-hot sizzle. If you are looking for trendy watches to compliment your style, Fossil is right up there along with Swatch as the top stylish brands in the business.
Skagen and Fossil Watch Comparisons
Again, we would like to reiterate that Skagen is under the Fossil banner. However, Skagen has proven time and time again to be a serious competitor within the watch market on its own. How does Skagen compare to its parent company? Lets find out.
Smartwatches
Smartwatches are the latest innovation in the watch industry. These high-tech timepieces not only tell time but allow for a multitude of unique features that standard watches cannot replicate to provide. Smartwatches are all digital and use touchscreen controls. Think of it as having a small tablet as your wristwatch, and youll get the gist of it. Skagen and Fossil produce some of the bestselling smartwatches on the market, Skagen with its Falster line whereas Fossil sells it Gen 5 and hybrid options.Both Skagen and Fossil watches are famous within this category. But which one holds the best overall smartwatch?
Skagen Falster 2
Fossil Gen 4 Explorist HR
Dress Watches
Both Skagen and Fossil excel in crafting stylish and affordable minimalist watches.
Skagen Sundby Stainless Steel Mesh
Fossil The Minimalist FS5304
Skagen vs Fossil Which is the Better Watch?
Both Skagen and Fossil are considered fashion watch brands. Both the brands sell well as fashion accessories but neither has real watchmaking history behind them. When it comes to style, Skagen seems to have embraced a more contemporary approach with their design when compared to the still grounded in the traditional look of Fossil. Stylistically, it is very subjective to the customer as to which one fits their personality more. That being said, we would give the edge to Fossil as they offer a much wider variety with their watch designs.In the smartwatch category, it seems the parent brand Fossil is putting more effort and backing behind their smartwatches. Skagen still sells the Falster (now welling generation 3 as of 2021) but has not expanded the product line as much as Fossil.For more info, take a look at these bestselling fossil watches.
Skagen Falster 3 review
Two-minute review
The Skagen Falster 3s external design hasnt changed much from its predecessor, as its still a classy watch that eschews future-blob curves for a more industrial look. That sets it apart from both other digital wearables and traditional timepieces, and a more modern chipset addresses complaints that the Falster 2 was underpowered.
Its a small refinement, which characterizes this sequel to an already-stylish wearable. This version also packs a speaker that allows you to answer calls from your watch or hear Google Assistant responses - nice, but not supremely useful.
On the other hand, the Falster 3s boilerplate version of Wear OS doesnt pack any surprises or major additional features. Nor does it harness the smartwatchs multiple buttons well, which makes the whole package feel less cohesively designed than some other smartwatches.
Ergo, its best to appreciate the Skagen Falster 3 as an aesthetic piece with smart connectivity rather than an advanced smartwatch. If youre familiar with Wear OS, so much the better, as theres no help beyond a fairly minimal tutorial - not even a guide in the box.
These issues aside, the Falster 3 stands out with its burnished metal design and reliable Wear OS functionality. Its rare we see smartwatches that can be dressed up or down, and with a few band choices, can accompany suits just as well as sweatpants.
Skagen Falster 3 price and release date
The Skagen Falster 3 is available now in select markets for $295 / 279 (around AU$425). It hit stores on January 7, 2020, in the US and Asia, with availability in Europe by the end of that month.
That price makes it just a bit more expensive than the Falster 2, though the handful of additional features earn that bump. Its no budget watch, though, and youll be able to get this functionality in more affordable wearables. Youre paying for the design, through and through.
Design
While not much has changed from its predecessor, the Skagen Falster 3s physical design is far and away its best achievement. The circular metal body feels sturdy without tipping over into bulky, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch; the pipe-like wristband struts doubtless have a slimming effect on the watchs look.
It comes in a single 42mm size, which sits between the 44mm and 40mm sizes for most bigger smartwatches; its 11mm thickness is likewise not the most weve seen, but it certainly undeniably puts this in the traditionally masculine watch style.
Our model came with a metal wristband (Gunmetal Gauge Mesh) weaved of dense links, a bit like compact chainmail that predictably pinched errant hairs and added weight that took a day or two to get used to. But it contributes to an overall industrial style that grew on us as we grew accustomed to its heft. Just a note - the 22mm straps are easily swapped out, but thats a larger size than the 20mm wristbands that typically come with smaller (38mm) smartwatches.
The three right-mounted buttons are a bit more for look than function. The center has a crown with respectable resistance - twisting it to scroll felt natural, which is the most pleasant part of navigating around the watch. Pressing it will go back to the watch face, and pressing again will go to the main app menu. If you want to go back, you can swipe backward on the display a gesture we found by accident, as its not introduced in the tutorial.
This is frustrating given the perfectly suitable top and bottom buttons, which can only be mapped to app shortcuts but being able to go back seems a much more common use case. On the opposite (left) side of the watch is the speaker slot.
On the back of the watch are the heart rate sensor and power ring to clip on to the charger. Like its predecessors, the Falster 3 charges off a direct capacitive connection no wireless charging here so make sure you dont jostle it free from its charge pad. Which happens often given how heavy the watch-and-watchband are. Youve been warned.
Display
The 1.3-inch OLED display is another strength of the Skagen Falster 3. While the screen is not quite as large as some other smartwatches, especially with its noticeable bezel and thick inner lip, its notably crisp and bright.
And yes, its a circular display, which isnt a surprise given the use of Wear OS.
The display sits nested in a noticeable metal ring, which should also serve to protect it from nicks and dings. Such accidents might happen as its flat cross section protrudes a bit more than the curved screens of smartwatches like the Apple Watch 5.
Touch-wise, the display is responsive, and its often easier to swipe with a finger through the interface (like sorting through the extensive list of workouts) rather than spinning the crown and accidentally pressing its back button.
In keeping with the watchs designer focus, the fourteen included digital watch faces are stylized to a fault, with several veering into silly (one is just a ring of the phrase ITS ABOUT TIME with each letter corresponding to an analog number position from 1 to 12). But theyre nearly all dark faces with light markings, which is apparently a battery-saving feature.
Fitness
This is a Wear OS watch through and through, and predictably, its loaded with Google Fit and its suite of workouts and features. If you liked them anywhere else, youll like the Falster 3s fitness experience.
But again, theres not a lot of custom integration, which is disappointing. Want to switch from one workout to another? Youll have to swipe backward and, if the exercise you want isnt one of your three recent picks, youll need to scroll through the Fit Workout apps entire catalogue in alphabetical order - which is fine for Australian Football, but horrible for Zumba.
There are dozens more workouts, from curling to snowshoeing - and while we didnt test out the more esoteric activities, the set-and-forget workouts (running, stair climbing machine) were fine, while others that require checking in after every set (strength training) were cumbersome.
Likewise, youll have to manually start and stop each workout, unlike other smartwatches that detect motion and both ask if youve started an exercise and check in to see if youve finished. Its not a particularly smart fitness experience.
That said, the Falster 3 itself is more than capable of fitting in with your workouts despite its metal body, and we didnt find it got in the way of any exercises. Youll certainly notice its heft during your first few sessions, though, especially if youre using the metal mesh wristband. Its also water resistant down to 30 meters, so feel free to take it in the shower and do some light swimming, though its 3 ATM max pressure means its not great for diving.
The Skagen Falster 3s heart rate sensor works during workouts and breathing exercises (accessible through the app). You can also have it periodically take readings throughout the day, though that will drain the battery a little faster than normal.
Performance
The Falster 3 performs adequately well for its minimal Wear OS functions, thanks to its use of the Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset - the same as comes on the Samsung Galaxy Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, a slightly dated processor that still hasnt been succeeded. Paired with 1GB of RAM and the Falster 3 has the best specs possible for a Wear OS smartwatch.
We barely noticed any slowdown while sorting through the interface, whether using touch controls or the crown to sift through apps. The watch does choke while attempting to hastily scroll through the Tile app snapshots - swipe right from the home watch screen for those - though, which is disappointing. Curiously, it doesnt skip a beat when spinning through the vertical app list, whether by touch or using the crown.
There isnt much to Wear OS bundled in aside from Google Fit and a few basic clock apps, though plenty more can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Youll have plenty of room to download extra software with the 8GB of on-device storage. Its not nearly as ample as the 32GB on the Apple Watch 5, but its more than the 4GB on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.
You can use the Skagen Falster 3s NFC capabilities with Google Pay, though its unclear if the functionality can be used with any other pay system (like Samsung Pay, for instance).
Battery
Thankfully, the Skagen Falster 3 is more generous in its battery options. It has four modes: three for high, medium, and minimal drain, along with a custom one to toggle a dozen different potentially-draining options like Wi-Fi, location, or always-on screen.
The high mode, Daily, keeps everything on, and generally lasts a full day, while the medium (Extended) sacrifices some features to eke out close to two days, Skagen claims. Time Only does exactly as it says, turning off connectivity and notifications to allegedly stay on for weeks.
The watch will helpfully prompt you to switch down to a lower mode when it hits certain capacity thresholds to keep the Skagen Falster 3 on longer while preserving some functionality. Overall, its easy to keep this smartwatch alive for longer, just as long as youre willing to manually tinker with battery modes.
As previously stated, the watchs heft may make charging on the included cord-and-puck a bit more difficult. Its weight in the body and the metal strap can drag it off ledges or shelves if youre not careful.
Buy it if
Dont buy it if...
First reviewed: July 2020
Competition
Fossil Gen 5
In the realm of stylish smartwatches within the typical consumers price range, Fossils smartwatches have reigned supreme - and for good reason. The Fossil Gen 5 is a bit older, but with a more traditional circular look than the Falster 3s burnished metal. It packs the same Snapdragon 3100 chipset, water resistance, and speaker as the Skagen model, with a bit more of a traditional smartwatch look - plus, at this point, its likely been discounted.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a good alternative to the Falster 3 if youre looking for a more fleshed-out smartwatch experience. Its lighter, yet manages a rounded-glass look without appearing too bulbous. Its connected features obviously work a bit better with a Samsung device, but can function with other Android and even iOS phones. Its haptic dial is also a bit more fun to play with than the Falster 3s physical crown.
Withings Steel HR
Withings is one of the only other mainstream smartwatch makers that opts for style over extra functionality, and the Steel HR is the brands most prominent hybrid smartwatch. That means the Steel HR relies on analogue watch timekeeping (hour/minute hands and all) with a small digital sub-dial inset in the watch face proper. It merges a traditional timepiece look with connected functionality, which, while much of the latter needs to be seen on a linked phone, manages to stretch its battery life to an entire month. Yep.
