Computer Shopper - UK (2020-04)

ISSUE386|COMPUTER SHOPPER|APRIL2020

SPECIFICATIONS

PEDOMETERYes•HEART-RATEMONITORYes•DISPLAY

SIZE1.3in•RESOLUTION416x416•OS SUPPORTAndroid6.0

and later, iOS10and later•BATTERYLIFEOneday•

WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.fossil.com/uk•

PART CODEFTW4025

WITHEVERY GENERATIONof its smartwatches,
Fossil has sought to packineye-catching new
features, whether it’s fitness-tracking sensors or
Google Paysupport. TheCarlyle HR adds a
speaker into themix,letting you listen to your
musicwithout headphones andhear responses
from theGoogleAssistant.
There’salso built-inGPS,anoptical heart-rate
sensor,NFC forcontactless payments and a3ATM
waterproofing rating.The only thing missingis
4G support, so you’ll stillneedasmartphone
nearby to view notificationsand answer calls.

CROWN JEWEL

Then again, 4G might have thickenedupthe
CarlyleHRand spoilt its fantasticlooks. Unlike its
predecessor, the FossilQExploristHR, theCarlyle
HR has asubtler,more minimalist bezel and, as a
result, you get asmartwatch that’s more discreet
on thewrist. Even so,Fossilhas foundroom for
three physicalbuttons on the side,including a
crownthat can be used to scroll through screens
and menus or held down to launch Google
Assistant. It’s abrilliant designoverall.
The focalpoint is the1.3in AMOLED
touchscreendisplay, which hasanimpressive
416x416 resolution. It’s atop-notchdisplaythat’s
exceptionally bright,verycolourful andcan also
changebrightness automatically,thanks to the
watch’s ambientlight sensor.
Then,ofcourse,there’s the speaker.Besides
enabling music playback without headphones, it
can also workwiththe integrated microphone to
let youconductcalls whilelinkedwithaphone.
Both Androidand iOS supportthis.
Unfortunately,the speakergoesabout itsjob
in aprettyunderwhelming way. Volume could
certainlybelouder,and the audio clarity isn’t
great, either.It’scertainlynot goodenoughfor
youtoreallyenjoy the musicyou’relisteningto,
and things don’t get much betterwithGoogle
Assistant. It doesn’t elevate the experience of
usingthe smart assistant compared to when the
speaker wasn’t present.
Nonetheless,you get thesame sports-
tracking featuresthat were present on the
Explorist HR, andtheydoadecent jobonthe
accuracy front. If you run, swimorcycle shorter
distances, and you don’tneed this to get you
through amarathon, you’ll be wellserved.
The exception is the heart-ratesensor,which
is slow to pickupsudden changes at the
beginning of aworkoutand often inaccurately
reportsaverage and maximum heart-rate
readings forindividualsessions. Thebuilt-in GPS
can also be slow to pick up asignal at times, and
will often seekout the GPSonyourphone first

before using the onboard GPS, although it’s

reliable enough once it lockson.

Another pointinthe Carlyle HR’sfavourisits

inclusion of Google Pay. This took fartoo long to

introducetoFossil smartwatches, but it’s present

here andworks very wellindeed.

As with all Wear OS watches, Google Assistant

is on board, but on the Carlyle HR it struggled to

accurately pick up questions on thefirstattempt,

and was very slowtodigestthosequestions and

deliver an answer when it eventuallydid.

Whilethe Google Fitapp is suited to basic

fitness tracking, it’s not the easiest placetoview

yourdata post-workout, and still feels like it needs

somework.You’d be better served using one of

the third-partyfitness tracking appsavailable via

the Play Store,suchasStrava or Runkeeper.

LAGGINGRIGHTS

On the performancefront, the CarlyleHRrunson

the same SnapdragonWear 3100 processor as the

Fossil Sport (Shopper376). That means it suffers

from many of the same problems: there’s aslight

lag when swipingfromone screentoanother,and

launching apps remains afrustrating experience.

Battery lifeisrelativeshort, too: normal use yields

only asingle daybeforeyou needtorecharge.

There are someextrabattery modes –Daily,

Extended and Time Only –that letyou eke out a

little more,but whatwe’dreally liketosee is a

Fossil smartwatchthat can go fordaysonend.

Fossil’s fifth-generation smartwatchachieves

two things: it stuffsawhole lot of featuresinto

an attractive design. However,those positive

featuresare,ultimately,underminedbyhalting

performance,anuninspiring speakerand short

battery life. In the face of competition from the

likes of theGarmin Venu and theFitbit Versa2

(Shopper383), the CarlyleHRneeded to do better.

MichaelSawh

FOSSILCarlyleHR

★★★★★

£235•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

WEAROSSMARTWATCH

VERDICT

The Carlyle HR looks superb,but its batterylifeand
headlining speakerfunctionality let it down