New Fossil Hybrid HR Monroe is a gorgeous (and overdue)upgrade

Fossil has quietly unveiled a new version of its Hybrid HR line, with a big stylish makeover.

The Hybrid HR Monroe brings a stainless steel case, super-slim 12mm strap in a 38mm case size, which has been scaled down from 42mm on the original version. And it certainly brings a huge dose of style to the hybrid smartwatch market.

It’s available in a host of colors and finishes, with stainless steel silver/white with a matching mesh strap and rose gold/black with leather strap available now. There also seems to be a standard gold version too, although that’s displaying as sold out.

Welcome, Monroe! Our most advanced Hybrid HR Smartwatch in the smallest size yet. #Fossilsmartwatchhttps://t.co/8MVL3Z4rvepic.twitter.com/tu667B3NNA
— Fossil (@Fossil) November 17, 2020

Fossil has had a quiet 2020, especially on the hybrid smartwatch front. The original Hybrid HR was launched back in January 2020 and offers physical hands placed over a full E Ink display.

The display means the feature set is much closer to a full screen smartwatch than rival hybrids, which tend to communicate with vibrations and often small inset LCDs – like the Withings ScanWatch.

That means you can see full notifications, and get feedback on things like step goals, heart rate and even now playing information.

It will even show the summary of tracked workouts too, although there’s no GPS on board. You can, however, challenge other Fossil Hybrid HR owners to workout challenges.

But it’s the style upgrade that sings through here, more than the tech. The original Fossil Hybrid HR was fairly masculine, so it’s great to see Fossil do what it does best: adding smart features to something that’s actually beautiful to wear.

However, we’re also hoping it has overcome technical challenges from the original Hybrid HR, including buggy app support and fogging issues underneath the Hybrid HR’s screen.

The Fossi Hybrid HR Monroe starts from $195 and is available from the company’s website.