Don't buy a Fossil smartwatch right now, no matter how cheap it is.

As a reviewer for Tom's Guide, I have spent many hours testing the best smartwatches, and I am committed to telling you which device you should spend your hard-earned money on. But sometimes I think it's important to tell you when you absolutely should not buy a certain product. Now is that time.

That's not to say that Fossil's smartwatch is a total waste of money. This series of fashionable wearables has practically monopolized the presence of Wear OS for the past few years. These models, namely the Fossil Gen 5 and Fossil Gen 5 LTE, are rumored to be replaced by versions with all-new Wear OS software, as tasted by Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4.

According to WinFuture.de, a series of Fossil smartwatches powered by Wear OS 3 and the Snapdragon 4100 wearable chip will hit the market at least one by the end of this year. The site claims that the next-generation watch, believed to be called the Fossil Gen 6, will be available in Germany starting September 27.

WinFuture's sources say that the upcoming Fossil smartwatch will follow the brand's familiar design language, while the internals will be upgraded with fresher chips that will support Google's new unified software.

Fossil's existing smartwatches with the Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset do not support the latest version of Wear OS. This is unfortunate given that the updated software will allow individual wearable manufacturers to customize the user experience in much the same way that Android software can be extended for smartphones.

Even if Google provides the underlying platform, as seen in the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup, Samsung still runs the show. past Fossil watches powered by Wear OS as well as did not offer anything unique as a Fossil watch. Fossil's attractive hardware was a means to distract from Google's lackluster software.

The next generation of Fossil watches with Wear OS 3 may allow Fossil to take greater ownership of its smartwatch products. At the very least, we can expect to see more Fossil-designed watch face options.

Most importantly, however, these rumored Fossil smartwatches will likely be the first Wear OS 3-powered devices that are not exclusive to Samsung users. Those with Samsung smartphones like the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 should be able to pair the new Fossil watches through the Wear OS app, but those with different Android phones will have access to There could be more features available.

For those who just got a Google Pixel 5a or plan to get a Google Pixel 6, for example, the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch might be an appropriate accessory. Until, of course, a long-term Google Pixel Watch becomes a reality.