Can you use Google Assistant on the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition?
The Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition is the brand's first WearOS device, but Wear OS 3 marks some limitations.
Can you use Google Assistant on the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition?
Best answer: No. With the new Wear OS 3.2 update, the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition smartwatch no longer supports Google Assistant. Nor does any Qualcomm 4100-based smartwatch, for that matter. However, Fossil is bringing Amazon Alexa support to its watches, including this one. It’s possible as well that Google Assistant support could be added in the future.
What is the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition smartwatch?
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The Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition smartwatch is the brand’s first Wear OS 3 device. It offers improved health and wellness tracking, more customization, and access to Fossil’s own app to track health and wellness stats.
You can still access other apps, but unfortunately, Google Assistant on the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition is not among them. With Amazon Alexa integration, however, you can still use a voice assistant. There’s no need to download the app to the phone, and it works for both iOS and Android users. It is possible that Google Assistant support could be added soon, but there’s no official timeline just yet.
Additionally, the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition won’t come with Google Fit pre-loaded, though you can download the app from the Wear OS Play Store and use the Fossil app to sync with it. While it works with both Android and iOS devices, when using the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition smartwatch with an iPhone, there’s no support (yet) for Google Wallet either.
Note that when updating other devices to Wear OS 3, the watch must completely reset, which means losing historical data as well since the device will effectively function once again as a new one. However, the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition will come pre-loaded with Wear OS 3 when being purchased new. For those who are updating an existing watch, a Fossil spokesperson confirms in a Reddit post that the company will send an e-mail with a special offer for anyone for whom the update causes an inconvenience given the resetting of the device and lengthy process.
For now, if you want to use Google Assistant on your smartwatch, your best bet is to look at some of the other best Android smartwatches, many of which do support it.
A smartwatch with Alexa
Even though the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition smartwatch runs on Google’s Wear OS 3, it does not support Google Assistant. It does, however, work with Amazon Alexa, which you can use to get news updates, check the weather or traffic, set timers, control smart home devices, and more, all with your voice.
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Christine Persaud has been writing about tech since long before the smartphone was even a "thing." When she isn't writing, she's working on her latest fitness program, binging a new TV series, tinkering with tech gadgets she's reviewing, or spending time with family and friends. A self-professed TV nerd, lover of red wine, and passionate home cook, she's immersed in tech in every facet of her life. Follow her at @christineTechCA.