Last Updated on March 14, 2024 by Senior Editor
Featured in this post are two outstanding smartwatches; the Galaxy Watch 3 and Fossil Gen 5 – Each of these two has a design that looks like your regular traditional watch, both are also well equipped to track your daily activities and loaded with interesting features like microphone, speaker, onboard music storage and more. However, while Galaxy Watch 3 runs on Samsung’s Tizen OS and is powered by an Exynos 9110 chip, Fossil Gen 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 3100 chip and runs on the Wear OS platform. In this post, we compare Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Fossil Gen 5 to find out which is a better smartwatch.
Fossil Gen 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: Specifications Compared
| Product Info |
 Fossil Gen 5 Calyle Specifications, Features and Price |
 Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (45mm) (LTE) Full Specifications, Features and Price |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $227.99 | Original price was: $479.99.$299.00Current price is: $299.00. |
| ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE |
| Device name | Fossil Gen 5 Calyle | Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (45mm) (LTE) |
| Device type | Fitness/Classic smartwatch | Fitness/Classic/Standalone smartwatch |
| Gender | Men | Men |
| Release date | August, 2019 | August, 2020 |
| Predecessor | Fossil Gen 4 Explorist | Samsung Galaxy Watch |
| Successor | Fossil Gen 6 | — |
| Versions | — | Bluetooth, LTE, Titanium |
| BODY | BODY | BODY |
| Dimension | 44 x 44 x 12 mm | 46.2 x 45 x 11.1 mm |
| Weight | — | 53.8g (excluding straps) |
| Shape | Circular | Circular |
| Case material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel 316L |
| Strap material | Stainless steel | Leather |
| Bezel material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel 316L |
| Strap size | 22 mm | 22 mm |
| Interchangeable strap | 22 mm, Yes | 22 mm, Yes |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass | Corning Gorilla glass DX+ |
| Water resistance | 3ATM | Yes, 5ATM |
| Durability test | — | MIL-STD-810G |
| Swim-proof | Yes | Yes, recommended |
| Color | Black, Brown, Smoke | Mystic bronze, Mystic silver |
| DISPLAY | DISPLAY | DISPLAY |
| Display size | 1.28 inch | 1.4 inches |
| Display type | AMOLED, Full color | Super AMOLED, Full color |
| Display resolution | 416 x 416 px | 360 x 360 pixel |
| Pixel density | 326 ppi | 364 ppi |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Input type | 3 Physical buttons, Touchscreen | 2 Physical buttons, Physical rotating bezel, Touchscreen |
| CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY |
| Bluetooth | Yes, Bluetooth v4.2 LE | Bluetooth v5.0 |
| Bluetooth calling | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Galileo, Yes, GPS/GLONASS/BEIDOU |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| MEMORY | MEMORY | MEMORY |
| RAM | 1GB | 1GB |
| ROM | 8GB | 8GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY |
| Technology | None | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| SIM type | None | e-SIM |
| Band | — | — |
| NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS |
| SMS alert | Yes | Yes |
| Calls alert | Yes | Yes |
| Email alert | Yes | Yes |
| Event reminder | Yes | Yes |
| Third-party apps alert | Yes | Yes |
| Reply to Notifications | - | - |
| MEDIA | MEDIA | MEDIA |
| Audio | mp3/mp4 | mp3/mp4 |
| Bluetooth music | Yes | Yes |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | No | No |
| Radio | No | No |
| SENSORS | SENSORS | SENSORS |
| Sensor(s) | — | — |
| ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING |
| Blood oxygen | No | Yes |
| Blood Pressure | No | Yes |
| Calories | Yes | Yes |
| Distance | Yes | Yes |
| ECG tracking | No | Yes |
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Steps | Yes | Yes |
| Floors climbed | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes |
| Fall detection | No | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | No | Yes |
| VO2 Max | Yes | Yes |
| Swim-tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Underwater heart rate tracking | No | — |
| On-screen workout | No | No |
| Sport modes | Yes | 90 |
| BATTERY | BATTERY | BATTERY |
| Battery type | Non-removable Li-ion battery | Non-removable Li-ion battery |
| Battery capacity | 310mAh | 340mAh |
| Battery life | Regular: 24hrs+ | Regular: 2 days |
| Charging type | Charging dock | Charging dock, WPC based wireless charging |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
| PLATFORM | PLATFORM | PLATFORM |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 3100 | Exynos 9110 |
| CPU | — | Dual core 1.15GHz |
| GPU | — | Mali™-T720 MP1 |
| Operating system | Wear OS | Tizen 5.5 |
| MISC | MISC | MISC |
| Companion app | Fossil Q App | Samsung Health App |
| Compatibility | Android 6.0+, iOS 10.0+ | Android 5.0+ & RAM 1.5GB+, iPhone 5+ and iOS 9.0+ |
| Payment system | Google Pay | Samsung Pay |
| Voice command | Yes, Google Assistant | Yes, Bixby |
| Find my phone | Yes | Yes |
| Box content | Charger, Fossil Gen 5 Calyle, Manual, Straps | Charger, Manual, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (LTE), Straps |
Fossil Gen 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: Differences
- Tizen OS 5.5 offers better UI than Wear OS
- Exynos 9110 is more advanced than Snapdragon 3100 chip
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is a more comprehensive fitness tracker
- Galaxy Watch 3 has a longer battery life than Gen 5
- Galaxy Watch 3 has a bigger display size
No doubt, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is a better smartwatch than Fossil Gen 5. It runs on a more robust and holistic Tizen OS 5.5 that’s more advanced than Wear OS which still lags behind as far as wearable OS is concerned. Nonetheless, in terms of access to apps, Wear OS wins over Tizen OS which has a limited number of apps.
Exynos 9110 which powers Galaxy Watch 3 is built on a 10nm fabrication process compared to Gen 5 that’s powered by Snapdragon 3100 built on a 28nm process. So, you can expect to get better performance on Galaxy Watch 3 than Fossil Gen 5.
Furthermore, even though both smartwatches are equipped with sensors to track your daily activities, Galaxy Watch 3 is a more holistic fitness tracker than Gen 5. It has more health tracking features like blood oxygen, VO2 Max., ECG tracking, blood pressure monitoring, running coach, and more preloaded sport modes unlike Gen 5 which relies on Google Fit and other third-party apps. Moreover, you won’t get ECG and blood pressure measurements on Gen 5.
Galaxy Watch 3 also has a slightly longer battery life than Gen 5, no thanks to a lagging Wear OS, and an outdated 3100 chip. While you can get up to 2 days long battery life with Galaxy Watch 3, Gen 5 can get you through the day. Although with battery saver mode activated on Gen 5, you can get up to 2 days or more.
The Galaxy Watch 3 comes in 41mm and 45mm sizes, while the Gen 5 comes 44mm size. While the Galaxy Watch 3 41mm unit has a 1.2 inches display size, the 45mm unit has a 1.4 inches display size which is slightly larger than the 1.28 inches display of the Gen 5.
In terms of ease of navigation, I give it to Galaxy Watch 3. Although it has two physical buttons, it features the iconic physical rotating bezel which in addition to a touch-sensitive screen is very easy to navigate. Meanwhile, the Gen 5 has two physical buttons and a rotating crown in addition to a touch-sensitive display.
Which is Better?
Although each of these two is a fantastic smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 3 is a better smartwatch than Fossil Gen 5. It has more health tracking features and a more sophisticated OS which makes it a more comprehensive smartwatch.
Meanwhile, the Gen 5 running on the Wear OS platform will give you access to popular apps like Google Assistant, Google maps and more which you won’t be able to access on Galaxy Watch 3.
