Fossil's smartwatch challenge has come to an end; the journey that began in 2015 with the Fossil Q Founder (or one could say it began 11 years earlier with the forgotten Wrist Net smartwatch) has now officially come to an end

"The smartwatch landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years, and we have made the strategic decision to exit the smartwatch business," the company said in a statement to The Verge

"The Fossil Group is redirecting resources to support our core strengths and the core segments of our business that continue to offer strong growth opportunities for us

This means that last year's Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition is officially over This model is a hybrid with an e-ink screen, and the last "complete" smartwatch will be the Fossil Gen 6 in 2021

If you own and love one of these, it's not all bad news, as the company has said it will continue to update the software on existing Wear OS devices "in the coming years" 9to5Google also notes that Best Buy is offering a fairly generous trade-in value of up to $120 for some Fossil smartwatches

The withdrawal must be a disappointment for Google, as Fossil and its focus on fashion had given smartwatches a less geeky look through the difficult early days of Wear OS (or Android Wear as it was once called)

Now Fossil, which tried to make a smartwatch using Google's wearable OS, is just one of the brands like Sony, LG, and Motorola that ultimately backed out of the venture Some brands, like Huawei, have abandoned Wear OS but continue to make smartwatches using a different OS

Then again, Fossil's withdrawal is not as big a blow as it was three years ago In the meantime, not only has Samsung gone back to making Wear OS watches, although it used its own Tizen operating system, but Google has begun making its own wearables with the two-generation Pixel Watch

Samsung's Galaxy Watch 7 will reportedly feature a new chip, while the upcoming third generation of Pixel Watch will reportedly offer different sizes, and both appear to be here to stay Even if this competition from dedicated hardware manufacturers will make the Wear OS market a bit less varied going forward, Fossil's exit is likely the right decision for the company