Diesel Griffed Gen 6 Wear OS Smartwatch Review

Smartwatches normally are likely to not have as a lot room for design creativity as conventional mechanical watches, however a couple of watchmakers have discovered a strategy to mix each. Notable amongst these is Fossil, which has wholeheartedly embraced the sensible means, bringing the distinctive styling of its varied manufacturers to smartwatch types. Amongst these is Diesel (Fossil manufactures smartwatches with Diesel branding), identified for its intentionally aggressive look which finds enchantment the world over notably for its clothes and footwear, but additionally for its mechanical wristwatches.

The most recent product from the steady is the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch, which, like lots of Fossil’s smartwatch choices, runs on Google’s Put on OS platform. Priced at Rs. 25,995 in India, the Diesel Gen 6 is a correct smartwatch in each means, however one which additionally has its personal distinctly butch model. Is that this new smartwatch well worth the worth? Discover out on this overview.

The Diesel Griffed Gen 6 has three buttons, aside from contact display controls

Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch: worth and variants

The Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch has been launched in a single 45mm variant when it comes to dimension and specs, though there are 4 completely different color choices out there. The one I obtained for this overview is the gunmetal variant with a metallic link-based locking strap, however you too can decide a two-tone (with a silicone strap), brown (with a leather-based strap), or silver (with a metallic strap) one. The metallic choices are expectedly a bit higher from a sturdiness perspective. All variants are priced the identical (Rs. 25,995).

Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch: design

Whereas many smartwatches use an oblong display form for higher emphasis of what they’re, and are simpler use, the spherical display is equally in style notably amongst manufacturers which use Put on OS or attempt to provide a distinct aesthetic enchantment. Within the case of the Diesel Griffed Gen 6, it’s miles from the widely compact, light-weight, and screen-focused smartwatch expertise that you simply get from competing merchandise such because the Apple Watch sequence.

As a substitute, the Diesel Gen 6 is massive, cumbersome, and unapologetically aggressive in its look — simply as you’d count on from a Diesel-branded product. This features a outstanding scrolling dial-button with the Diesel brand, two extra with plastic guards surrounding them, and a substantial general thickness which additionally provides to the burden of the smartwatch.

Naturally, the look must be backed up by an identical watch face to make sure the specified impact, and there are a lot to select from — however extra on that later. The precise {hardware} itself capably pulls off the Diesel aesthetic, and is admittedly an excellent search for most individuals of their 30s and 40s, assuming you are a fan of Diesel’s unapologetic styling.

The Diesel Griffed Gen 6 runs on Put on OS, however makes use of the Diesel On companion app on Android and iOS

Though the general dial dimension of the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is 45mm, the display is significantly smaller at roughly 1.3 inches in diameter. The watch straps are replaceable, however you may most likely need to follow the matching one you get with the smartwatch; the gunmetal variant’s strap seems to be and feels nice. Beneath the watch are the optical sensors for coronary heart charge and different capabilities, and a zone for the magnetic charger to latch on.

The Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is rated at 3ATM for water resistance, and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Put on 4100+ chipset. For connectivity, the system helps Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC, and runs on Put on OS 3.

Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch: software program, interface, and app

The Fossil Group (which has developed the Diesel Griffed Gen 6) has caught with Google’s Put on OS for years now, and also you get model 3 on this system. Notably, there are some tweaks to the working system to present it some Diesel customisations, together with using a particular companion app referred to as DieselOn (as a substitute of the Put on OS app), varied customized watch faces designed to go together with the aesthetic of the smartwatch, and assist for Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant.

Put on OS usefully works on each Android and iOS, with the Diesel On companion app equally current on each platforms. In my case, I had the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch paired with a OnePlus 9 Pro (Review) for this overview, with Put on OS linking with my Google account for synchronising with most of my Google apps and companies.

Apps comparable to Google Maintain and Google Maps are notably helpful on a smartwatch, as is Google Match for well being monitoring based mostly on the {hardware} capabilities of the smartwatch itself. For many apps in your smartphone, notifications are synced based mostly in your notification settings in your paired smartphone. Which means you will not see notifications in your smartwatch if they have been muted in your smartphone, though the specifics could be tweaked.

There’s coronary heart charge and SpO2 monitoring on the Diesel Griffed Gen 6, however the accuracy and usefulness of those aren’t distinctive

The core performance and sustaining the reference to the smartphone is dealt with by the Diesel On app. This contains synchronising notifications, having the ability to reply from the smartwatch, and inserting or receiving calls on the watch. Nonetheless, sure different options and performance could be finished straight on the smartwatch itself, both by a Bluetooth hyperlink to the paired smartphone or by a direct Wi-Fi connection.

A fairly vital level within the case of the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch is the implementation of Amazon Alexa because the voice assistant, as a substitute of Put on OS’ typical default Google Assistant. As soon as arrange, you possibly can set one of many buttons to invoke Alexa, which hyperlinks to your Amazon account and works with your complete ecosystem both by Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The speaker on the system supplies voice responses as nicely, and the performance labored as anticipated more often than not.

In most different methods, it is a Put on OS system much like a lot of what you may see on different units from the Fossil Group and different smartwatch makers. This contains the basic Google fonts, icons, and common styling of Google’s smartwatch platform. That stated, the platform does permit for a good quantity of customisation by producers, and the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 expectedly seems to be and feels a good bit completely different to the Put on OS 3.5 powered Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series.

A key aspect of customisation is within the watch faces, and Diesel has supplied a good set of 14 watch faces which are designed to go nicely with the feel and appear of the smartwatch. You too can customise every watch face individually, altering colors, hand motion animations, and problems as per your liking. After all, you possibly can entry the Google Play Retailer for Put on OS to obtain different watch faces or apps, however the preinstalled choices are fairly good in my view.

The customized Diesel watch faces go nicely with the aesthetic of the smartwatch

The Diesel On app seems to be and feels a bit barebones and unpolished, nevertheless it will get the job finished when it comes to sustaining the connection, dealing with notifications, and offering primary well being monitoring information comparable to steps and coronary heart charge. Happily, the Griffed Gen 6 is a full-function smartwatch, and when linked with Wi-Fi, is pretty succesful by itself even with out your smartphone round.

There’s a comparable Diesel On app on the smartwatch as nicely, however this does not do a lot aside from providing some unusual quotes, climate, occasions, and primary data. On the entire, the software program expertise is not fairly as polished as that of the similarly-priced Galaxy Watch 5, nevertheless it is not too shabby both.

Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch: efficiency and battery life

Fossil’s vary of smartwatches aren’t positioned as technological marvels and even pitched in the direction of the fitness-focused person as could be the case for a tool such because the Fitbit Versa 4. Alongside these strains, the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is pitched as a branded, fashion-focused sensible wrist accent above all else, however the Rs. 25,995 price ticket is basically justified by its precise smartwatch performance as nicely.

A smartwatch is, in spite of everything, meant to be not solely a mirror of your smartphone’s display, but additionally a fairly succesful system by itself. Wi-Fi connectivity and the moderately well-equipped Google Play Retailer for Put on OS ensures that you are able to do a good quantity on the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 even when it is briefly not linked to your smartphone (comparable to at dwelling, when your telephone is in one other room).

The respectable processor and OS model implies that the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 performs reliably normally, however there have been events the place the smartwatch grew to become a bit gradual and laggy, when a number of apps had been being downloaded or the system had simply re-synced and was receiving many notifications directly. It is positively not as fluid and hassle-free an expertise as on the Galaxy Watch 5.

Aside from reliably pushing notifications and in addition letting you view or reply to most straight from the smartwatch, the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 works nicely to take calls straight in your wrist. The microphone and speaker work nicely sufficient, guaranteeing that you’ll take quick calls in your wrist as wanted, even in considerably noisy environments.

Health monitoring on the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is basically current solely to examine containers, and the metallic strap would not even provide the safe, skin-hugging match that’s normally wanted for the optical sensors to work optimally. This is not the form of smartwatch you’d need to put on on exercises, and also you’re unlikely to really profit from health monitoring within the acceptable situations for this system, comparable to at an workplace, or on the pub after work.

An always-on mode enables you to view the time and primary particulars even on standby, however this impacts battery life

When sitting nonetheless with my arm at relaxation, coronary heart charge and SpO2 monitoring had been moderately correct when put next with readings from an Apple Watch Series 7 and a pulse oximeter. When shifting, the understandably free match of the metallic strap meant that readings had been exhausting to get, and had been usually off the mark even when one thing did seem.

Step monitoring and distance monitoring on exercises had been normally a bit off as nicely, with the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 measuring 1,055 steps for 1,000 steps that I manually counted — an error margin of 5.5 %. Sleep monitoring is correct sufficient, however the Griffed Gen 6 is sort of heavy, and subsequently fairly uncomfortable to put on whereas sleeping. Equally priced smartwatches from Samsung and Fitbit are far more correct and cozy for health monitoring, so it is best to think about these if monitoring options are necessary to you.

Battery life on the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is a major downside of the smartwatch, and is what largely holds it again from being really sensible as an all-day system. With extraordinary use together with having an always-on watch face, common well being monitoring, and infrequently answering calls on the smartwatch, the system ran for round 12-13 hours on a full cost.

Even with the watch positioned on a desk for your complete time, the battery would final for lower than 24 hours on a cost. Charging itself is fast, however this does imply that you will have to have your charger available always.

Verdict

The Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is a fairly well-equipped smartwatch on paper, and certainly will get many of the bits that make it a smartwatch proper. Nonetheless, the design and aesthetic imply that the system would not fairly work the best way typical smartwatches from manufacturers comparable to Apple and Samsung do. You may need to think about this for the best way it seems to be and the way it matches together with your wardrobe, fairly than as a severe smartwatch.

Positive, you possibly can simply as simply purchase a daily mechanical wrist look ahead to that, however then it would solely let you know the time; the Diesel Griffed Gen 6 is clearly extra succesful, with the flexibility to deal with calls, notifications, and a few pretty helpful apps, aside from having a completely purposeful voice assistant available as nicely. It is the best smartwatch to put on in most formal and casual settings due to how on-brand it seems to be — so long as you do not have massive expectations of the well being and health monitoring performance.