Danish watchmaker Skagen, a subsidiary of Fossil, announced a sequel to its minimalist Falster touchscreen smartwatch today at IFA 2018. The device, called the Falster 2, incorporates health-tracking features from Fossil’s most recent Wear OS smartwatches, announced earlier this month, alongside a new swimproof case and a nice-looking magnetic steel mesh strap.
The health-tracking features include a heart-rate monitor and support for the Google Fit platform. In addition to that, the Falster 2 now comes with GPS and it supports Google Pay with a built-in NFC chip, so you can make mobile transactions from the watch itself without needing to take your phone out of your pocket. The device also contains two side buttons that can be programmed for easy access to apps, while the actual touchscreen interface features with what Skagen describes as “battery-saving watch dials,” for customization.
In effect, Fossil has worked with Skagen here to incorporate the features of its fourth-generation of its Fossil Q lineup into an updated version of the Falster watch that made waves for its sleek and stripped-down design back at CES 2018 in January. Unfortunately, like the Fossil Q fourth-gen devices, the Skagen Falster 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, which is about two years old at this point.
The Falster 2 starts at $275 and starts shipping on September 12th.