TechRadar Verdict
If you like the idea of smartwatch features but can't bear to leave your traditional watch behind, Fossil's Q Accomplice is a stylish and competent hybrid solution.
Pros
- +
Stylish
- +
No charging
- +
Customizable notifications
Cons
- -
Basic fitness and sleep tracking
- -
Links inconvenient to change
- -
Notifications can be confusing
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The Fossil Q Accomplice fuses basic smarts with the traditional look of a watch, providing a low-key hybrid timepiece that will nudge you when you get a notification.
For those interested in the useful features offered by smartwatches but put off by having yet another screen on their person, hybrid smartwatches are the best option at the moment.
Like a superhero in civilian clothing, hybrids are designed to look like ordinary and (somewhat ironically) timeless watches while hiding some neat smartwatch capabilities.
Fossil Q Accomplice price
- Q Accomplice price: from £159/$155/AU $279
In terms of pricing, the Q Accomplice has two tiers. Opting for the leather straps is the cheaper option at £159/$155/AU $279, while stainless steel straps will set you back slightly more at £179/$175/AU $299.
This makes it cheaper than the majority of smartwatches on the market, but remember this is a hybrid, which means it has a more limited feature set.
Design
- Light, comfortable and just small enough to be a good unisex option
- You'll need to visit a store if you need the metal strap adjusted
The Accomplice from Fossil is a great example of a watch that does more than sit pretty on your wrist.
It's available in five colors: rose gold with matching stainless steel link straps, navy blue with rose gold accents and stainless steel navy link straps, good old fashioned silver stainless steel, gold with a tan leather strap and silver with a sand leather strap.
The model we had for review was rose gold with matching stainless steel link straps. It's a stylish option and like all hybrid devices, the watch face looks like that of a traditional watch – all of the smarts are hidden inside.
At 38mm across and 11mm thick, the Accomplice is light, comfortable and just small enough to be a good unisex option. We would have been happy to see a watch face slightly smaller than this given that it still erred on the chunky side for our wrist, but it was more manageable than many smartwatches we've tried over the years.
Despite being the most fashion-forward option, the rose gold frame with matching stainless steel link straps does look slightly gaudy purely because it's so much rose gold.
However, given the Accomplice watch faces are compatible with all of Fossil's 16mm straps, it's easy to customize and change things up. Just be aware that the color of the watch face won't change so try to pick the finish that lends itself best to the kind of customization you're likely to prefer.
Fossil Q Accomplice hands on gallery
The stainless steel straps are the more expensive looking option and they feel pleasingly sturdy without being heavy. One caveat, however, is that unless it fits straight out of the box you're going to have to add or remove some links to get the right fit.
Despite coming with a very on-brand screwdriver that allows you to remove and change the battery on the back of the watch face, the Q Accomplice doesn't come with anything that enables you to adjust the fit.
Taking to the product set up page, we found that changing links requires a visit to a Fossil shop where it's done free of charge. Being in London means we had three stores to choose from, but this certainly won't be convenient for everyone.
When having the links removed we asked the Fossil shop assistant if this is something that can be done at home without breaking any product warranty. He told us yes, informing us that all that's required is a very small screwdriver and hammer.
To remove a link simply use the tools to knock the pin from the link and it should come away easily. Just make sure you only remove links with arrows on their inside which indicate they can be removed.
This seems simple enough to do, but it's also a bit of an oversight that Fossil hasn’t given customers the means to do this in the watch box alongside its other screwdriver.
Once you have a selection of straps, switching between them is a simple process of unclipping them using the small switches where the strap meets the watch face and clipping in the other one.
