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The best smartphones, tablets and smartwatches for students
New school year, new gear. Maybe you're due for an upgrade, or maybe you broke your phone over summer break, or maybe you just want a new toy. Either way, you might be looking to refresh your slate of devices before heading to campus. For the mobile section of our back-to-school guide, we considered the best phones you can get on a student-friendly budget. We also threw in our favorite smartwatches for both Android and iOS users. But "mobile" means more than just phones and phone-like things meant for your wrists. We also included our favorite e-reader and make a case for why someone might want to splurge on an iPad Pro. (Hint: art and design students might get a kick out of it.) We know that in your haste to get to class on time you might occasionally forget to charge your devices, so we've also included a portable battery that can keep all your stuff running. And life isn't all work and no play, so when it's time to chill out in your dorm, you can strap on our favorite wireless headset and take out some aliens in VR -- no need to make your roommate trip over any cables.
Fossil debuts an LTE smartwatch and adds new styles to its Michael Kors lineup
Fossil is single-handedly keeping the Wear OS dream alive as the platform languishes while we wait for Google to complete its acquisition of Fitbit. At CES 2021, the fashion giant is announcing several new smartwatches and hybrid watches from its family of brands including Michael Kors and Skagen. Meanwhile, the new Michael Kors Access connected watches run Google’s operating system in designs that are smaller and cleaner than previous generations.
Skagen's new smartwatch might be The One
It felt like I had found my match on smartwatch Tinder. I hadn't even seen the Skagen Falster 2 in person before today, but I was already enthralled by the pictures. The stunning watch teases with its clean, minimalist design, and then grabs you by your eyeballs with its metallic accents and magnetic mesh band. After meeting it at last here at IFA 2018, I think I'm in lust. Just look at this thing.
Skagen revamps its slick-looking Falster smartwatch
Skagen's Falster has been one of the darlings among Wear OS smartwatches thanks to its posh yet minimalist look, but it was hard to recommend to everyone when there were no standout features besides the design. The Fossil-owned brand is fixing that today with the Falster 2. It still maintains the Danish brand's aesthetic but introduces a heart-rate sensor, GPS and NFC payments. You can use this to track an outdoor run and pay for a snack after your workout. Skagen is promising some tangible improvements on the outside, too.
Kate Spade designed an Android Wear smartwatch
Kate Spade, known for its colorful, bubble-gum aesthetic that draws girls from all over the world to its purses and accessories, has made its first touchscreen smartwatch. The Android Wear device was unveiled at CES 2018, and it doesn't have a name other than "Kate Spade scallop touchscreen." It was designed to fit in with the rest of the brand's "unapologetically feminine" look, according to CEO Mary Beech, and it's one of the few smartwatches ever to specifically target women's wrists, and do so in an attractive way.
Fossil will give you 300 new smartwatch options in 2017
Fossil swore that it would introduce smartwatches across all its brands, and it's definitely making good on that promise... although the result is a tad overwhelming. The company has announced that it's launching 300 (!) hybrid and touchscreen styles in 2017, and that includes brands that are both introducing their very first wearables as well as veterans jumping into the Android Wear arena. When all is said and done, most of Fossil's labels will have at least some kind of smartwatch on store shelves. We won't go into every single model (do you have a few hours?), but there are some definite highlights.
Skagen's first smartwatches are decidedly analog
Fossil is gradually dragging its watch brands into the smartwatch era, and now it's Skagen's turn: the Danish company is introducing its first smartwatch, the Hagen Connected. The new wristwear is focused on a traditional look over pure tech, and competes more with Withings' Activité watches than the likes of Apple, Google or Samsung. It tracks your fitness goals (that's what the sub-dial is for), vibrates for email and text alerts, and offers customizable shortcuts for common tasks like taking a photo or pausing your music. Effectively, it's a more refined version of the pseudo-analog watches you've seen before -- your friends might never know that your timepiece is talking to your Android phone or iPhone.
Fossil unveils 7 more wearables, including Android Wear watches
When Fossil teased plans to have over 100 wearable devices on store shelves this year, it wasn't clowning around. On top of the abundance of devices it has unveiled so far, it's announcing seven more today. Leading the pack are two Android Wear smartwatches, the multi-finished Q Wander (above) and the slightly tougher Q Marshal. Both are available with 44mm and 46mm circular cases, wireless charging and choices of strap and body styles. They sell at the same $275 starting price as last year's Q Founder, so they might be viable choices if rivals like the Huawei Watch or Moto 360 aren't your cup of tea.
