Puma puts brand name on smartwatches

Sports brand Puma will connect its name to smartwatches from next year. Although the company does not report it, it seems likely that the Puma watches will run on Google’s Wear OS operating system, the former Android Wear.

The first Puma smartwatches should be on the market next year, Fossil Group reports. Puma has licensed Fossil Group to make smartwatches bearing the Puma brand name until 2028. Fossil will design, produce and distribute the watches.

Fossil Group already makes smartwatches under the brands Skagen, Diesel, Emporio Armani, Fossil, Michael Kors and Misfit. Most new smartwatch models come from fashion brands, while technology companies have released fewer new models in recent years. The smartwatches are not technically innovative and share many components, such as the screen and the soc.

No details are known about the Puma watches yet. It is not the first time that the sports brand has tried the mobile market. The Sagem Puma Phone was released eight years ago, a feature phone with a resistive 2.8″ touchscreen. The phone was not a great success and Puma subsequently withdrew from the telephone market.