Fossil is one of the most active brands when it comes to developing Wear OS smartwatches. Its products are stylish and discreet but still feature advanced hardware, including heart rate sensors and GPS chips on the latest models. The Sport series features the newer Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip, which makes it one of the snappiest watches around. If you'd rather boast a more traditional-looking timepiece, the Gen 4 Q Explorist and Q Venture are what you need, but may be slightly behind when it comes to performance as they're based on the older Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset. Regardless of your preference, the two variants are currently on sale at $199, which is $75 off their regular price.
Read MoreWear OS 2.3 is now rolling out to some smartwatches
While Google's battery-focused Wear OS 2.2 H update continues to roll out, version 2.3 of the wearable operating system is now beginning to hit smartwatches as well. The new Wear OS version comes with a Home app update from 2.20 to 2.21, which promises a more intuitive, efficient design; improved health coaching; and more proactive help from Google Assistant.
Read MoreFossil Sport review: The best Wear OS has to offer
I have been a user of Android Wear/Wear OS practically since it was released. I bought a Samsung Gear Live a few months after it became available, followed by a Moto 360 and an original LG G Watch. When those models became unusable for one reason or another, I purchased a refurbished Huawei Watch that I use to this day.
I've wanted to upgrade for a while now, but once rumors of a Pixel Watch subsided, I decided to get the first affordable watch with the fancy new Wear 3100 processor. That turned out to be the Fossil Sport, which dropped to $180 this past Black Friday.
Read MoreFossil Sport smartwatch is now $178.50 in site-wide 30% off Black Friday sale
It isn't easy to find a Wear OS device that is feature rich, affordable, and small enough to evade classification as a planet these days, but Fossil's new Sport smartwatch is certainly enticing. It's not too big (41 or 43mm case sizes), features the latest in wearable processing (Snapdragon Wear 3100), and covers all the standard bases (5 ATM water resistance, NFC, heart rate sensor) for $255. But in case you're thinking that's still a little bit pricey for what's on offer — you're probably right. But you're also in luck, because there's 30 percent off site-wide on Fossil products for Black Friday in the US, available immediately.
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