I have an Apple Watch and an analog watch. The Fossil Q Grant Gen 2 Hybrid Smartwatch Dark Brown Leather takes some of the most used features of the Apple Watch and puts them on a more traditional watch face (similar to my analog watch). In other words, it has a foot in two worlds. It should be noted that this watch is both wider and thicker than the 42mm Apple Watch.
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In my personal opinion, the watch face on the Fossil Q is gorgeous. Unlike an Apple Watch, you can see the time without lifting your arm. In other words, for people that are annoyed by a blank watch face adorning their wrists all day, but want a few geeky features, this might be a nice compromise. No, it comes no where close to having the numerous features of the Apple Watch. However, if you only need a few functions, this might be your answer.
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
In my personal opinion, the watch face on the Fossil Q is gorgeous. Unlike an Apple Watch, you can see the time without lifting your arm. In other words, for people that are annoyed by a blank watch face adorning their wrists all day, but want a few geeky features, this might be a nice compromise. No, it comes no where close to having the numerous features of the Apple Watch. However, if you only need a few functions, this might be your answer.
The watch has some clever features, but first you need to create an account and pair it, via Bluetooth, with your phone. I use a an iPhone, so I went to the App Store and downloaded the Fossil Q app. It walked me through the pairing process. After the watch was paired, you can set it up for your preferences. One cool feature is that the watch will automatically show the correct time after it pairs and change when you travel into different time zones.
Some of the options in the app are:
Some of the options in the app are:
Activity
The app allows you to set your step goals, review your step activity, and set sleep goals. According to the app, it uses algorithms to track your activity. Since the app can pair with the Health app, you can tie it in with other apps that pair with the Health app. The "sub-eye" on the watch face shows your current progress toward your activity goal. When you reach the goal, the hour and minute hands will move in celebration. You can also connect the app to "Under Armour" and "Up By Jawbone" apps, but I have not used those features.
Alarm
You can set up an alarm and it will vibrate on your wrist until you turn it off. You can also set the strength of the vibration you feel on the watch in the app.
Notifications
This is one of the main reasons I wanted the watch. It allows you to setup notifications for many different apps. Some of the options are calls, texts, calendar, ESPN, FaceTime, Flickr, etc. You can also set it up to be notified for individual contacts. After you decide which notifications you want to be aware of on the watch, you assign each one a number. For instance, if you assign your mom (you can be notified of calls, texts and emails from this person or any combination of the three) position 1, the watch will buzz and move both hands to 1 on the watch face. You just have to get used to the number you assigned to each notification. To be clear, you will know that your mom notified you, but you will have to pick up the phone to dig deeper. Obviously, on the Apple Watch, you can do a lot more without ever picking up the phone. I also wish that I could get notifications from my security camera apps, but I did not see a way to set them up independently. There is a way to set it up to receive all notifications, but I would prefer the option to assign a number to Arlo or Ring.
Q Link
This is another cool feature of the watch when compared to your old analog watch. It can be setup to "Ring Phone", "Control Music" on phone, "Take Photo" with phone, and set a new goal. I wish there was a way to flip back and forth between options directly on the watch, though. In other words, I often use this feature to control music on my phone (It can play/pause, go to next track, or go to previous track with pressing the bottom button on the watch once, pressing twice, or pressing and holding, respectively.), but I would like to easily change it to ring my phone without needing my phone to make that change. That way, if my phone was misplaced, I could use the watch to find it, even if I was initially using the feature for music.
Buttons
The buttons on the side have different features. The top button is for the day of the month. You push down on the button and both watch hands go to that day. The middle button will allow you to switch between alert, alarm, second time zone, and date. The bottom button is for Q Link control.
Other stuff
I should also mention that you do not need to dock this watch every night like an Apple Watch. In fact, you don't dock it at all. It has a battery that you switch out every 6 months or so, depending on usage. They include a nifty tool shaped like a Q to open up the back of the watch. The watch also has easy to remove bands. I found it a bit more cumbersome than just pushing down on a button like you have with an Apple Watch, but it is still a heck of a lot easier than using the typical band removing tools you need for regular analog watches.
The app allows you to set your step goals, review your step activity, and set sleep goals. According to the app, it uses algorithms to track your activity. Since the app can pair with the Health app, you can tie it in with other apps that pair with the Health app. The "sub-eye" on the watch face shows your current progress toward your activity goal. When you reach the goal, the hour and minute hands will move in celebration. You can also connect the app to "Under Armour" and "Up By Jawbone" apps, but I have not used those features.
Alarm
You can set up an alarm and it will vibrate on your wrist until you turn it off. You can also set the strength of the vibration you feel on the watch in the app.
Notifications
This is one of the main reasons I wanted the watch. It allows you to setup notifications for many different apps. Some of the options are calls, texts, calendar, ESPN, FaceTime, Flickr, etc. You can also set it up to be notified for individual contacts. After you decide which notifications you want to be aware of on the watch, you assign each one a number. For instance, if you assign your mom (you can be notified of calls, texts and emails from this person or any combination of the three) position 1, the watch will buzz and move both hands to 1 on the watch face. You just have to get used to the number you assigned to each notification. To be clear, you will know that your mom notified you, but you will have to pick up the phone to dig deeper. Obviously, on the Apple Watch, you can do a lot more without ever picking up the phone. I also wish that I could get notifications from my security camera apps, but I did not see a way to set them up independently. There is a way to set it up to receive all notifications, but I would prefer the option to assign a number to Arlo or Ring.
Q Link
This is another cool feature of the watch when compared to your old analog watch. It can be setup to "Ring Phone", "Control Music" on phone, "Take Photo" with phone, and set a new goal. I wish there was a way to flip back and forth between options directly on the watch, though. In other words, I often use this feature to control music on my phone (It can play/pause, go to next track, or go to previous track with pressing the bottom button on the watch once, pressing twice, or pressing and holding, respectively.), but I would like to easily change it to ring my phone without needing my phone to make that change. That way, if my phone was misplaced, I could use the watch to find it, even if I was initially using the feature for music.
Buttons
The buttons on the side have different features. The top button is for the day of the month. You push down on the button and both watch hands go to that day. The middle button will allow you to switch between alert, alarm, second time zone, and date. The bottom button is for Q Link control.
Other stuff
I should also mention that you do not need to dock this watch every night like an Apple Watch. In fact, you don't dock it at all. It has a battery that you switch out every 6 months or so, depending on usage. They include a nifty tool shaped like a Q to open up the back of the watch. The watch also has easy to remove bands. I found it a bit more cumbersome than just pushing down on a button like you have with an Apple Watch, but it is still a heck of a lot easier than using the typical band removing tools you need for regular analog watches.
Wrap Up
The Fossil Q Grant Gen 2 Hybrid Smartwatch Dark Brown Leather is for someone that wants a beautiful watch with a nice leather band, but with a few of the comfort features of a smart watch. My main issue with the watch is the lack of a backlight. The watch relies on you to be able to see the hands, but if you are in a dark room, you typically have to turn a light on to see where the hands are pointing. While they did put some glow in the dark material on the watch hands, unless you are coming out of a bright environment where light is directly aimed at them for a while (which makes them glow), they usually won't be bright enough to see in the dark. For me, this is a major problem for this kind of watch. If I have to pull out my phone when I get a notification when I am out in the dark, the less useful it becomes when I am out and about. I would also like a way to change the Q Link feature directly from the watch, but that may not be possible, so I can understand that shortfall. Lastly, I want to be able to setup assignable notifications from my security camera apps so that I know when motion is detected without getting out my phone.
That being said, I think they are close to making a very nice hybrid watch. I love the ability to control my music app of choice and I like being able to look down and see the time without moving my arm around. That being said, I will still be wearing the Apple Watch most of the time, but for those times I want to look more professional, but still be aware of notifications without taking out my phone, I will put this watch on. If it had a backlight that I could manually turn on (with maybe a three second feature where it turned off automatically to save battery power), I could overlook some of the other shortfalls, but the lack of a backlight is an issue that will keep this from being on my wrist on a daily basis. However, if you are mainly in bright environments and prefer a more traditional watch than some of the tech-centric smart watch options, this may be your answer.
The Fossil Q Grant Gen 2 Hybrid Smartwatch Dark Brown Leather is for someone that wants a beautiful watch with a nice leather band, but with a few of the comfort features of a smart watch. My main issue with the watch is the lack of a backlight. The watch relies on you to be able to see the hands, but if you are in a dark room, you typically have to turn a light on to see where the hands are pointing. While they did put some glow in the dark material on the watch hands, unless you are coming out of a bright environment where light is directly aimed at them for a while (which makes them glow), they usually won't be bright enough to see in the dark. For me, this is a major problem for this kind of watch. If I have to pull out my phone when I get a notification when I am out in the dark, the less useful it becomes when I am out and about. I would also like a way to change the Q Link feature directly from the watch, but that may not be possible, so I can understand that shortfall. Lastly, I want to be able to setup assignable notifications from my security camera apps so that I know when motion is detected without getting out my phone.
That being said, I think they are close to making a very nice hybrid watch. I love the ability to control my music app of choice and I like being able to look down and see the time without moving my arm around. That being said, I will still be wearing the Apple Watch most of the time, but for those times I want to look more professional, but still be aware of notifications without taking out my phone, I will put this watch on. If it had a backlight that I could manually turn on (with maybe a three second feature where it turned off automatically to save battery power), I could overlook some of the other shortfalls, but the lack of a backlight is an issue that will keep this from being on my wrist on a daily basis. However, if you are mainly in bright environments and prefer a more traditional watch than some of the tech-centric smart watch options, this may be your answer.
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