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Battery life
- Magnetic wireless charger comes in the box
- Charger secures firmly to the watch
- Easily squeeze more than a day’s usage out per charge
The Fossil Q Venture comes with its own magnetic charging unit for wireless power transfer. Simply plug the USB device into a power outlet, place the underside of the watch face on the charging base and... that’s it.
You’ll be juicing your smartwatch wirelessly without having to wrestle with a port, meaning that there are no unsightly seams or port covers present on the watch.
The magnetic puck held securely to the underside of the watch, meaning you’ll need never worry that it’ll slide off while charging, either.
In terms of battery life, as with any always-on device your mileage will vary depending on what you’re using it for.
For instance, on the day we first set the watch up (the day in which we most intensely downloaded updates, new apps and watch faces), it just about scraped through a 8 or so hours usage.
But that was an extraordinarily intensive session for the smartwatch, and every day since we’ve finished a working day with a comfortable amount of juice to spare. You won’t quite get two days’ use out of the Fossil Q Venture before needing a charge, but the company’s quoted 24 hours average use feels conservative.
We reckon you’ll sail past a day before desperately needing to dig out that wireless charger.
Verdict
It's attractive, its battery life impresses, but it's let down by some lacking fitness features. The Fossil Q Venture then is a little hard to pin down, in terms of exactly who it should appeal to. Is it for you, and should you be splashing the cash on this Android 2.0 wearable? Read on for our final verdict.
Who’s it for?
With slick looks and only a light set of fitness features, this is certainly more of a fashion-orientated wearable than a fitness one. And with its compact size and subtle looks, it should suit a unisex audience, with a bevy of styles and strap options available at various prices.
Just be aware that, when it comes to features at least, this is not the most complete wearable on the market. You’ll need to look elsewhere for phone-free 4G connectivity, fitness tracking heart rate monitoring, and the convenience that NFC connectivity brings with it.
Should I buy it?
The Fossil Q Venture strikes a nice balance between comfort, subtle sizing, performance and price.
While there are more feature-rich devices on the market, they’ll inevitably cost a higher amount, and won’t look necessarily any better in the process. If you can forego every bell and whistle associated with the most tech-heavy wearables, the Fossil Q Venture is a stylish, comfortable and responsive smartwatch that’s well worth your time – especially if you can find it at a third-party merchant at a reduced price.
