Fossil has announced that it will be pulling back from the smartwatch market, effectively making its latest run of watches the last it'll ever release.
Given that those Gen 6 smartwatches arrived back in 2021, this doesn't come as a major surprise, but it still makes for the disappearance of a name that at some points kept Google Wear smartwatches afloat.
However, there's better news for existing Fossil smartwatch owners, the fashion brand has confirmed that it'll continue to release updates for its existing lineup of smartwatches for a number of years.
So, if you already have one on your wrist, you don't need to worry about immediate obsolescence. We don't know whether those updates will be noticeable, or just security changes to keep the watches secure over time, though.
Speaking to The Verge about the decision, Fossil's COO said: "Fossil Group is redirecting resources to support our core strength and the core segments of our business that continue to provide strong growth opportunities for us: designing and distributing exciting traditional watches, jewellery, and leather goods under our own as well as licensed brand names."
That makes it sound like you won't be able to expect much tech in any of its products moving forward.
While it might not have made any new watches since 2021, there were years, in the time before Google finally rocked up with the Pixel Watch, where it looked like Fossil was the only real hope for Google Wear watches.
While Samsung and Huawei continued to put out classy and expensive options, Fossil's more affordable models were arguably closer to signalling what sort of Android wearable people might actually want and use.
Still, those days are now fairly far gone, and you won't find a Fossil model on our list of the best smartwatches on the market right now.
Of course, the market still remains dominated by Apple and its own watch lineup, especially now that the Ultra has arrived to fill a gap at the more premium end of the spectrum.
It's never great to see any company pull out of a sector, though – on whatever level, it suggests a source of innovation and competition will now be absent moving forward, after years where Fossil provided both for smartwatch owners and makers alike.
