Smartwatches are coming out of age. The unique features that the smartphone makers have been focussing on when marketing their smartwatch series include a focus on fitness tracking, Heart-rate monitoring, and good design. With a host of smartwatches being available, we thought of checking out a few useful devices that would be interesting enough. The result is this comparison between three of the most popular options that can prove to be worthy of attention. We will compare Skagen Falster 2 vs Fossil Sport 4 vs Apple Watch 4 smartwatches in this comparison and explore their features in more exquisite detail.
Skagen Falster 2 – An Overview
| Colour | Black |
|---|---|
| Size | 40 mm |
| Thickness | 11 mm |
| Case Material | Stainless Steel |
| Dial Colour | Full AMOLED Colour Display |
| Movement Type | Full Display & RAVEN |
| Battery Type | APP0277 |
| Battery Life | 1-2 days
** Depends on usage** |
| Storage | 4GB ROM |
| Strap Colour | Black |
| Strap Width | 20 mm |
| Strap Material | Silicone |
| Circumference | 200+/- 5 mm |
| Interchangeable Compatibility | 20 mm |
| Closure | Single Prong Strap Buckle |
| Connectivity Options | Bluetooth Smart Enabled / 4.1 (BLE) Low Energy |
| OS Compatibility | iPhone 5/ iOS 9+, Android OS 4.4+ |
| Operating System | Wear OS by Google™ |
| On-Board Sensors | Accelerometer, Altimeter, Gyroscope, Light |
| Box Contents | Wireless Charger |
| Water Resistant | 3 ATM |
| Warranty (Limited) | International 2-Year Limited Warranty |
This has been considered to be one of the most stylish watches ever found in a crowded smartwatch market. However, it does suffer on account of the battery life considerations and the chipset that has gone outdated. If you belong to the fashionista world and looking for something that looks stylish on your hands, the Skagen Falster 2 is a great choice and lives up to the expectation to a greater extent.
When it comes to the looks and design, you will not find any issues with the watch ideally. The watch offers smart functionality but does not go overboard in any way. While embracing a small design form factor, the dial reads 40 mm. That makes it considerably sleek to hold and so lightweight that you will forget you are wearing something. It has three buttons, one of which is for opening apps and the other two can be configured as shortcuts. There are options available for watch straps of your choice.
The display reads 1.19-inch circular AMOLED with a 320 x 320 resolution. Though it may be a slightly lower resolution in comparison, the screen does have a clear and bright functionality to it. Wear OS powers the watch and working with it should be rather simple and easy to work with. Switching between different watch faces is easy and straightforward.
The watch is powered by an old generation Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset. However, it does work efficiently with Wear OS and does not show off any tantrums. It has almost all the useful features you would look for in a smartwatch. There is an NFC availability as well along with automatic heart rate tracking feature every 20 minutes. It is also swim-proof for up to 30 meters.
The smartwatch is compatible with both Android and iOS. The battery on the device reads 300 mAh and works efficiently enough. If you are into GPS tracking, heart rate monitoring, and other regular daily activities, you should get under a day’s backup.
Fossil Sport 4 Watch – An Introduction
| Colour | Blue, Smoke |
| Size | 43 mm |
| Thickness | 12 mm |
| Case Material | Aluminum, Nylon |
| Dial Colour | Full AMOLED Colour Display |
| Movement Type | Full Display |
| Battery Type | – |
| Battery Life | 1-2 days
** Depends on usage** |
| Storage | 4GB ROM |
| Strap Colour | Smokey Blue |
| Strap Width | 22 mm |
| Strap Material | Silicone |
| Circumference | 200+/- 5 mm |
| Interchangeable Compatibility | 22 mm |
| Closure | Single Prong Strap Buckle |
| Connectivity Options | Bluetooth® Smart Enabled / 4.2 Low Energy, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| OS Compatibility | iPhone 5/ iOS 9+, Android OS 4.4+ |
| Operating System | Wear OS by Google™ |
| On-Board Sensors | Accelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Heart Rate, Microphone, NFC, Untethered GPS |
| Box Contents | Rapid Charger |
| Water Resistant | 5 ATM |
| Warranty (Limited) | International 2-Year Limited Warranty, 90-day returns |
Fossil Sport Smartwatch should be a perfect option for those who are in love with fitness activities. However, high pricing can be a concern for some of us. This a mid-range smartwatch and is primarily focussed on the fitness usage. The watch is quite lightweight and durable enough.
The watch does come with an Aluminium body and is quite lightweight. The aluminum construction and the silicone strap should make it quite thin and lightweight that does not play a spoilsport with sweat. As with the Skagen smartwatch, the watch comes with a central dial button for opening apps and other two buttons on either side for the customized applications.
The watch works on the proprietary software from Fossil and is integrated with Google Fit. You have a 1.19-inch 390 x 390 OLED display on the watch which should be good enough for the price you would be paying for it. As for the dial, you can either choose a 43mm or 41 mm option. It comes with a colorful display, but brightness is where it does fall a little short. Sunlight legibility can be another issue.
The watch is powered by Snapdragon Wear 3100. The latest hardware should ensure a streamlined experience. You will have access to a simplified user experience that tends to be quite responsive in every manner. You also have access to a 512 MB RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. It also has the NFC compatibility built within the watch.
Functionality wise, the watch is focussed towards fitness. The water resistance property of the watch is rated to up to 50 meters. The battery lasts over two days with moderate usage. The always on display does not drain the battery as on the other screens.
Apple Watch 4 – A Sneak Peek
| Colour | Silver, Gold, Space Grey |
| Size | 40 mm (44mm for Stainless Steel Model) |
| Thickness | 10.7 mm |
| Case Material | Aluminum, Nylon |
| Dial Colour | LTPO OLED Retina display with Force Touch
16m colors, 1000 nits brightness 368 by 448 pixels (44mm) 324 by 394 pixels (40mm) |
| Movement Type | Full Display |
| Processor | S4 with 64-bit dual-core processor
W3 – Apple wireless chip |
| Battery Life | Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Up to 18 hours** |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Strap Colour | Silver, Gold, Space Grey |
| Strap Width | 22 mm |
| Strap Material | Woven Nylon, Stainless Steel |
| Circumference | Fits 130–190mm wrists. |
| Interchangeable Compatibility | 22 mm |
| Closure | Single Prong Strap Buckle |
| Connectivity Options | LTE and UMTS2
GPS + Cellular models Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz Bluetooth 5.0 |
| OS Compatibility | iPhone 5/ iOS 9+ |
| Operating System | watchOS 5.0 – upgradable to 5.1.3 |
| On-Board Sensors | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS
Barometric altimeter Electrical heart sensor (ECG app) Optical heart sensor Improved accelerometer up to 32 g-forces Improved gyroscope Ambient light sensor |
| Box Contents | Magnetic charging cable
USB power adapter, Charger |
| Water Resistant | 50 meters |
| Warranty (Limited) | International 2-Year Limited Warranty |
Apple Smartwatches have always been impressive, and that holds true in the case of Apple watch 4 as well. The design is quite exemplary, and there have been vast improvements compared to the previous generations. It would be one of the most expensive smartwatches you would ever have a look at.
Other health specific data and apps are accurate to Apple Watch and will not be found on any of the other devices. You have access to several specialized health apps like fall detection, ECG and heart rate monitor. The watch works Watch OS 5. You can use it for several activities, and there is also an option for automatic tracking of your exercises as well.
The availability of sizes ranges between 40 and 44 mm. The OLED display is robust and vibrant enough. Integration with Apple Siri is yet another added advantage. The battery life is impressive sufficient with Apple quoting an 18 hour, and that should be more than a full day’s backup by almost every standard. It also has a higher capacity for music files. Latest updates have introduced support for podcasts as well. The 16 GB of internal storage should provide you access to practically anything you want to carry with you on the move.
The Comparison Chart: Skagen Falster 2 vs Fossil Sport 4 vs Apple Watch 4
Having checked out the three smartwatches and gone through the brief review of the three competing options, we thought of sharing a side by side comparison between salient features and functions of each of them in a head-on comparison. That can help you arrive at the best choice of a smartwatch for your needs.
| Features / Particulars | Skagen Falster 2
|
Apple Watch 4
|
Fossil Gen 4
|
| Device Type | Classic smartwatch | Sporty/Fitness smartwatch | Sporty/fitness smartwatch |
| Release date | October 2018 | September 2018 | November 2018 |
| Suitable for | Unisex | Unisex | Unisex |
| Type of Display | OLED | LTPO OLED | AMOLED |
| Display size | 1.19 inches | 1.78 inches | 1.2 inches |
| Display resolution | NA | 390 x 390 pixels | 448 x 368 pixels (44mm)
324 x 394 pixels (40mm) |
| Physical Dimensions | 40 x 40 x 11 mm | 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm (44mm) | 43 x 43 x 12mm |
| Shape | Circular | Square/curved | Circular |
| Material of casing | Stainless steel | Stainless steel frame and all ceramic and sapphire crystal back | Aluminum |
| Strap material | Silicone | Elastomer | Silicone |
| Band size | 20 mm | 125 – 210mm | 22 mm |
| Screen protection | NA | Sapphire crystal glass | NA |
| Water resistance | Yes, 50 ATM | Yes, IP68, 5ATM | Yes, 5 ATM |
| Colors available | Rose-gold, black | Black, silver gold | Black, grey, red, pink, green and blue |
| RAM Capacity | 512 MB | 768 MB | 512 MB |
| Internal storage | 4 GB | 16 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes, Bluetooth smart v4.1 LE | Yes, Bluetooth v 5.0 | Bluetooth smart v4.2 LE |
| WiFi supported | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Yes, Wi-Fi, LTE, UMTS
802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz |
Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| NFC Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors available | Accelerometer, Heart rate monitor, gyroscope, ambient light | Altimeter, accelerometer, magnetometer, heart rate monitor, barometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, ECG sensor | Accelerometer, magnetometer, heart rate monitor, barometer, gyroscope, ambient light |
| Operating System | Android WearOS 2.1 | WatchOS 5.0 | Android WearOS 2.1 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 | Apple S4, 64 bit | Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 |
| CPU | NA | Dual core | Quad-Core A7 |
| Battery type | Li-ion non-removable | Li-ion non-removable | Li-ion non-removable |
| Battery capacity | 300 mAh | NA | 300 mAh |
| Battery life | Standby :3 days + , Mixed usage: 24 hours+ | Standby :3 days + , Mixed usage: 1 day+ | Standby :2 days + , Mixed usage: 18 – 24 hours |
| Charging method | Inductive charging magnet | NA | Inductive charging magnet |
| Charging time | About 1 hour 30 minutes | About 2 hours | About 1hour 30 minutes |
| Payment system | Google Pay | Apple Pay | Google Pay |
| Compatibility | Android 4.4 or later.
iOS 9.3 or later. |
iPhone 5s or later with iOS 12 or later | Android 4.4 (excluding Go edition) or later
iOS 9.3 or later |
| Companion App | Skagen connected app | Apple watch APP | Fossil App |
That was all we have with respect to the comparative features available on all the three devices. The features above should provide you with a clear input into the best features that each of these smartwatches has on offer.
The Concluding Thoughts
That was a formidable comparison between the three equally capable smartwatches. If the style and looks are what you are searching for, the Skagen Falster 2 should be your prime choice for most of your requirements. Apple watches packs in a whole lot of features and functions, but can be quite expensive and may be out of reach for most of us.
Check out the comparison between the three watches and make a well-informed choice for the best among them based on what you are looking for.
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