Fossil Q Venture HR, Q Explorist HR Wear OS Smartwatches Launched in India, Prices Start From Rs. 19,995

Fossil on Monday launched the Q Explorist HR and Q Venture HR smartwatches. The price in India of the latest smartwatches starts from Rs. 19,995, and it will be available in the country by November 2018. The company's fourth-generation smartwatches with Wear OS by Google feature NFC, built-in GPS, and a heart rate sensor. Since the Explorist and Venture lineups have NFC they will now come with Google Pay support. Additionally, the Explorist HR and Venture HR come are said to be 'swimproof', though the company has not detailed an IP-rating. The two smartwatches are available for pre-order in the US and will start shipping on August 26. The price in the US range from $255 (roughly Rs. 17,500) to $275 (roughly Rs. 18,900).

The new Fossil smartwatches - the Q Venture HR and Q Explorist HR - range in price from Rs. 19,995 to Rs. 21,995 depending on the band and colour preference. Interestingly, Fossil is sticking with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC that has been used by smartwatches for a long time, including Fossil's entire generation 3 lineup. Notably, the key difference between the two smartwatches is their size - Q Explorist HR is 45mm in diameter, Q Venture HR is 40mm. This means the exchangeable bands are different too, 22mm and 18mm respectively. The price of the bands in India has not been revealed yet.

Tracking features in Fossil Q Venture HR and Q Explorist HR such as GPS, heart-rate, and swim workout tracking also integrate with Google Fit. While there have been some upgrades in the generation 4 Fossil Q smartwatches, a lot of the features remain unchanged. Buyers will get 4GB of inbuilt storage (for offline music playback and such), Bluetooth 4.1 LE, Wi-Fi b/g/n and a battery life of 24 hours or more.

"Since our entry to the smartwatch market, it has always been our first priority to be nimble and adapt quickly to innovations-both in technology and design," says Steve Evans, EVP of Fossil. "We know a lot of watch wearers have both a traditional watch and some kind of an activity tracker - by adding significant features in terms of technology, without compromising our design standards, this new generation of smartwatch will provide consumers with one device that fits all of their needs. Ensuring the best possible experience for our customers has always been important, which drove the innovation of this product; we cannot wait to see the consumer response around the globe."