Fossil's latest generation of smartwatches is aimed at savvy consumers who don't necessarily want a bulky watch on their wrist.

The Gen 5E is similar to last year’s Gen 5 series, but with a lower price point and a new, smaller 42mm size. The watches still run Google’s Wear OS and are now priced at $249, down $50 from the previous model, but questions remain whether it can compete with the Apple Watch or other timepieces in the growing smartwatch field.

The Gen 5E watches include the same sleep tracking, battery saver and fitness features that rolled out to Gen 5 via a software update this summer. Users can activate Google Assistant or make calls by tethering an Android phone or iPhone. The watches also include heart rate and activity tracking, but not the ECG heart monitoring or blood oxygen health features that Apple touts on its latest models.

“Visually, the watch is beautiful, and unlike most smartwatches, it has the look and feel of a classic watch,” George Pitchkhadze, a consumer products expert and CMO for Thrive Cuisine, said in an email interview. “However, it doesn’t have the advanced features we see in top smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch 3 or Apple Watch 5. There’s no standalone GPS functionality, no blood pressure, no ECG. [And] the speaker is weak.”