Fossil’s New Smartwatch Is Just the Thing Pebble Fans Have Been Waiting For

Well , after age of mourning , I have some good news . After about a calendar week of testing , the Fossil Hybrid hour feels like a worthy replacement to Pebble ’s legacy . Of naturally , it ’s not the exact same , but there ’s a pile to care . Its eastward - ink exhibit is easy to read and does n’t consume much power . You get two week of estimated battery animation , along with uninterrupted affection rate monitoring . Feature - wise , the watch keeps it simple — no Irish bull bells and whistles . Best of all , it ’s only $ 195 — and , presume I say , better looking .

Fossil Hybrid HR

What is it ?

It’s a good looking watch folks.

It’s a good looking watch folks.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

Fossil ’s late hybrid analog smartwatch

Price

$ 195 ; $ 215 for more or less fancy models

If you’re worried about hands obstructing your view, don’t be. They move to 9 and 3 automatically when reading messages or alerts.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

Long assault and battery ! E - ink screen ! round-eyed , no Irish bull feature !

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If you’re worried about hands obstructing your view, don’t be. They move to 9 and 3 automatically when reading messages or alerts.

If you’re worried about hands obstructing your view, don’t be. They move to 9 and 3 automatically when reading messages or alerts.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

Fitness tracking is motley pocketbook

To be vindicated , the Hybrid HR is n’t here to contend with full - featured , touchscreen smartwatches like theApple Watchor theSamsung Galaxy Watch Active2 . Anyone see for LTE connectivity , smart home control , NFC payments , and advanced fitness trailing will be disappointed . There are no ECG reading , reminders to catch one’s breath , or dubious title about wellness . In kernel , the picket is more like a basic physical fitness set disguised as a stylish analog sentry . If that ’s all you want , then the Hybrid HR does an excellent task .

For me , the best thing about the watch is its display . One problem I ’ve had in the past with hybrids is reading notice can be a total pain . Either you pose there for an awkward telephone number of seconds , waiting for the totality of your apprisal to scroll , or you have to infer why your watch is vibrating . old Fossil hybrids attempt to handle with this by tickle and then moving the watch to specific times — so a buzz and the watch pointing to three o’clock might mean a text from your mummy . It was a clever solution but relied on you really commemorate what apps and hoi polloi you ’ve program for which time .

Customizing the watch face is easy peasy.

Customizing the watch face is easy peasy.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

https://gizmodo.com/fossil-dips-back-into-hybrids-with-a-feature-filled-wat-1839640094

That ’s not an issue with the Hybrid HR . The vitamin E - ink showing — which is reminiscent of thePebble Time Round , minus the people of colour — is easy on the eye and legible even under unmediated sunlight . It ’s harder to see if you ’re alfresco at Nox or otherwise in a dark area , but there ’s backlighting for that . There ’s negligible lag when switching through silver screen , and you may easily scroll up and down through subject matter via the watch ’s buttons . All - in - all , it feels like a mini Kindle sieve on your articulatio radiocarpea .

The one question I had before testing was the watch ’s physical hand . At first , I thought they would be an pain , either by block stats or making notification hard to read . In practice , it was n’t a job . When you read an alert or subject matter , the hands mechanically move to three and nine so they do n’t obstruct your view . That ’s not to say the hands will never get in the style — I was annoyed when the minute hand stymy my aloofness during a running . It ’s more that , over the course of a week , this only chance peradventure two or three time . Plus , watch hands move so the worriment lasts a couple of minutes at most .

The heart rate sensor proved accurate during testing.

The heart rate sensor proved accurate during testing.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

App - wise , Fossil has n’t done anything outrageous . Its companion app is fairly unornamented - bones but easy to navigate . Customizing widgets and watch faces is easy , as is see your stats and syncing . It forge without any major hiccups , and honestly , that ’s good enough .

The Hybrid HR also lasts what feels like evermore on a single charge . When I unboxed my social unit a week ago , it already came with 70 percent battery . Without agitate it once , I sit here a week later with 20 percent leave — right on course for an estimated 14 - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. barrage life . And with four hours of logged use , 24/7 wearable , and continuous hour heart rate monitoring , it ’s actually quite impressive .

Another point in the Hybrid HR ’s favor — style . I can admit that conceit is one of my personal sins , and it does , in fact , feel good to not be stuck wearing another outrageous smartwatch that ’s throng with features but skimps on aesthetics . My review unit was the gold - and - black Charter role model , and it ’s gorgeous . I would not be afraid to wear down this at a formal effect , or even with everyday streetwear . I also appreciate that it does n’t completely dwarf my wrist joint or weigh me down while exert . That say , your customization options are somewhat limited . you may custom political platform widgets and select between a few unlike watch face , but that ’s about it — there ’s no venue for a consecrate community to establish customized watch faces , as with the Pebble .

Fitness tracking is meh, but I appreciate how well this functions as a basic smartwatch.

Fitness tracking is meh, but I appreciate how well this functions as a basic smartwatch.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

But the Hybrid HR is n’t perfect . Its major weakness is fitness trailing . philia rate monitoring is n’t the matter — on that front , the sentinel is pretty solid . It ’s mostly everything else . I wore the Hybrid hour simultaneously with the Apple Watch Series 5 , and the gap between the two on my daily step count was generally around 1,000 dance step . ( Full revelation : I ’ve tested various Apple Watches and Fitbits against a ascendance pedometer in tread-wheel tryout many time , and I can confidently say both caller ’ algorithms are accurate within a 1 - 2 percent margin . )

In general , it does n’t matter if a watch is x act of steps over or under , so long as it ’s systematically off by the same amount . The trouble was , this was n’t the typesetter’s case . Most days , the Fossil was about 800 - 1,000 steps over , but some day it ’d be a few hundred stone’s throw under . The biggest disagreement come on a rest day . I logged 7,674 tone with the Series 5 , while the Hybrid HR log 4,470 steps . That could ’ve been a one - off fluke , but compound with the overall inconsistency , I was n’t too impressed with the ticker ’s footmark - trailing .

besides , it greatly over - reported my length on three runs . During one run , my phone log a length of 3.1 miles via the Map My Run app . Meanwhile , the Hybrid 60 minutes recorded that run as 4.3 international nautical mile . On my next run , my phone logged 2.2 miles , while the spotter registered 2.8 miles . For the last run , my phone tracked 2.69 mile to the Fossil ’s 3.4 miles . I ’m thankful for the deferred payment , but it ’s not idealistic for training . You could debate my earpiece ’s Global Positioning System was being wonky , but I also simultaneously wore a Series 5 on all three run . In each case , the Apple Watch — which features build up - in Global Positioning System and therefore does n’t practice my telephone set — logged 3.12 miles , 2.2 miles , and 2.62 miles respectively .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

As for sleep trailing , the watch generally got my bedtime and waking time precise within 10 - 15 minutes . That said , I ’m somewhat disbelieving that it provides a complete picture . I have a sassy 19 - pound computerized tomography who has serious objections to having been put on a dieting . Every night he yowls between 4 - 6 a.m. , ask more of his sweet , sweet kibble . When I do n’t comply , he knocks over cup and piece of furniture . It ’s a give that I will wake up at least once or twice a night , get out of bed for a few minutes to fix whatever it is he ’s broken . However , that was n’t reflected by the picket . In a week , it only lumber one perturbation .

All this to say the Hybrid hour is still fine as a introductory tracker . It ’s not going to give you the most accurate results , but you should get a decent picture of your casual activity . You ’ll know which days you oppress it and which twenty-four hour period you did your best potato printing . Also , it ’s pretty clear this sentinel is n’t aimed at fitness buffs . My harping is more of a well-disposed monitor that if you do end up buying the watch , you should probably mentally pick apart off 1,000 steps from your daily count and use your speech sound for tracking outdoor activities .

What take a crap the Fossil Hybrid HR compelling is it feel like a good Libra between shape and social function . It does n’t do too much , especially by today ’s smartwatch standards , but what it does do is deliver the basics in timbre , bombardment biography , and an esthetically pleasing package . The fact it adds nap trailing and accurate heart rate monitoring on top of that is a plus . Not everyone require the fanciest smartwatch — and for those folks , the Hybrid hour is an excellent choice .

William Duplessie