The stunning and feature-rich Skagen Falster Gen 6 smartwatch runs faster and charges faster than previous models, but it’s not the best choice for sensor tracking.
Skagen’s smartwatches have long been amongst our favorite wearables because of their classic-watch aesthetic. Generation after generation, these wearables have continued to resemble a beautiful, minimalist, modern-day watch, but with all of the important features, you’d want from a smartwatch. With the Skagen Falster Gen 6 smartwatch series, the technology powering these wearables have been upgraded, making the watch perform up to 30% faster, its battery now lasts a bit longer and it charges faster.
What’s changed
The Falster Gen 6 smartwatch is powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ platform running Google’s Wear OS 2. Skagen says that the Falster Gen 6 will be compatible with the upcoming Wear OS 3 update that is scheduled to be released later this year.
Thanks to being powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ platform, Skagen is able to offer faster performance and longer battery life due to the chipset’s low power consumption. That, combined with the watch’s Smart Battery Modes, allows users to able to reach a little bit more than 24 hours of battery life, or up to a few days of battery life in smart battery mode. During testing, the watch’s battery did indeed get through a little over a day of use, and that was with regular notifications coming through. Unfortunately, this is still not as long a battery life as we’d like to see on a smartwatch, so there’s still a lot of room for improvement here.
The smartwatch also carries upgraded sensors. To that effect, its heart rate detector can now be continuously tracked and signal accuracy has been improved as well. This generation also has a new SpO2 sensor. Unfortunately, while testing we discovered that its heart rate, GPS, and sleep tracking sensors are still not very accurate.
Design
The watch’s sensors are housed in a 42mm case and information is displayed through a 1.28-inch touch screen. As with all WearOS watches, the dials and watch bands are customizable. The device is also swim-proof for up to 3 meters. Overall, the look of the smartwatch seems nearly identical to the previous generation, and that is a good thing because we love Skagen’s signature minimalist, yet classic look. The Falster Gen 6 is available with a choice of stainless steel mesh, silicone, or leather straps that are interchangeable.
Special features
In addition to all of the features you can expect from a Wear OS-powered watch, the Falster Gen 6 features an integrated microphone and speaker on board the watch which can be used to make and receive phone calls on your wrist.
Fast charging
The Skagen Falster Gen 6 charges twice as fast as its predecessor – it’s able to charge to 80% in just 30 minutes.
Skagen Falster Gen 6 Smartwatch review verdict
The Skagen Falster Gen 6 smartwatch brings with it a host of essential upgrades while keeping to its beautiful minimalist aesthetics. Most notably, day-to-day performance feels significantly smoother than previous generations of the watch. Unfortunately, its heart rate, GPS and sleep tracking sensors are still not very accurate. We hope that a future update rectifies this. Either way, Fossil has confirmed that the watch will receive an update to Wear OS 3 during mid-2022.
That said, we still highly recommend the Falster Gen 6 because it looks like a beautiful “real” watch, it offers smooth performance, and Wear OS is full of all of the features we value in a smartwatch. However, it is undeniable that the competition (eg: the Apple Watch) offers more accurate sensor tracking at this price point. Ultimately, If your primary focus in a smartwatch is sleep tracking, heart rate, and GPS accuracy, then the Falster Gen 6 is not the best fit. But if you’re looking for a beautiful, minimalist, classic-looking smartwatch that offers all of the essential smartwatch features, then we highly recommend Skagen’s Falster Gen 6.
Pricing and availability
The Skagen Falster Gen 6 smartwatch is priced starting at $295 and the watch is available now for purchase.
Update March 15th 2022: Amazon Alexa is now available on Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches. Google Assistant will continue to be the default assistant.