No fewer than nine new smartwatches could be incoming from the Fossil Group - and the likelihood is that they will be the first Wear OS Fossil devices to feature Android Pay.
Filings with the FCC detail new models with the inclusion of the NFC tech needed to power Google's contactless payment system. The filings mention DW7F1, DW7M1, DW7E1, DW7E2, DW7S1, DW7B1, and DW7T1 models - and two additional models – DW6 and DW8 – were also spotted by a Reddit user.
For the first seven of those devices the filing states:
"The only differences between these models are the color, strap material, and the chassis. These differentials are mainly for marketing purpose, there is no change in radio frequency, conducted RF output power, radio frequency circuitry, and functional capabilities."
This doesn't just mean the same watch in seven shades though - it's likely that the Fossil Group will pack the same tech and specs into different branded watches from its ever growing portfolio of brands.
Back in April, the Fossil Group announced a global license partnership agreement for the design, development and distribution of Puma-branded watches and smartwatches. The group already has wearables for 14 brands in more than 300 styles, which are on sale in over 50 countries and in 21 languages. It began its licensing arm in 1997 when it began making timepieces for Emporio Armani.
Fossil currently has a range of Fossil branded Wear OS smartwatches on sale – the likes of the Q Venture, Marshal and Explorist; and then there are also smartwatches from a raft of its umbrella brands such as the Michael Kors Access range, the Emporio Armani Connected and the Diesel On Full Guard.
A recent CCS Insight report claimed that less than 5 million Wear OS smartwatches were shipped in 2017; and it forecast fewer than 6 million would ship in 2018. However, there has been some exciting Wear OS news as of late. A Samsung smartwatch running Google's platform is rumored, and there's also reports of a Pixel Watch directly from Google. The wearable band market is currently booming, according to industry analyst Canalys, with shipments up 35 percent, year on year, from Q1 2017 to Q1 2018. It's Apple who is out in front, unsurprisingly, with an 18 percent share of the market – an estimated 3.8 million shipments.
