Fossil’s Wear OS 3.5 update is rolling out, but with some issues

Ben Schoon | Nov 28 2023 - 9:45 am PT

Fossil is in the process of rolling out a new version of Wear OS to Gen 6 smartwatches, but it’s not the latest version, and instead Wear OS 3.5.

Wear OS 4 debuted over the Summer on the Galaxy Watch 6 series and has since also expanded to Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. Fossil, though, isn’t yet rolling out that update. Instead, the company is bringing Wear OS 3.5 to its Gen 6 smartwatches, such as Fossil Gen 6, Skagen Falster Gen 6, and others.

The update started rolling out around a week ago, as some users on Reddit have shown, and has been expanding to more users in the time since.

What’s new in Fossil’s Wear OS 3.5 update? So far, it doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot. Users mention a handful of UI tweaks and some improvements to performance but no major changes. That doesn’t come as a huge surprise, as Wear OS 3.5 is just a minor update on top of Wear OS 3. Notably, it’s the version that was installed out of the box on the first Pixel Watch and hit Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup in mid-2022. Realistically, 3.5 is the update Fossil probably should have released late last year when the company initially released Wear OS 3 to its smartwatches.

Despite the long lead time, though, it seems there are some issues. On multiple threads, users note boot looping, install time, and rough battery issues while trying to install or after installing the Wear OS 3.5 update on their Fossil watch. Fossil has responded to quite a few of these issues, even confirming that the update was on pause for a while. The update does seem to have since resumed in its rollout, but Fossil hasn’t provided any official information on what’s been fixed.