Michael Kors Women Gen 5E Darci Touchscreen Smartwatch with Speaker, Heart Rate, GPS, NFC, and Smartphone Notifications

Product Information

Fossil smartwatches are currently on Gen 5 hardware – and now Michael Kors has updated two of its lines to run on the latest hardware: the sportier Gen 5E MKGO and sparkling statement Darci Gen 5E Smartwatch. The Snapdragon 4100 is now out, but has only made it to one smartwatch so far – the TicWatch Pro 3. So the 3100 is a capable processor that will delivers a decent experience.

If you really start pushing yourself the heart rate sensor does struggle to keep up – but for general gym workouts or runs – it's a solid performance that will give you a good estimate of your exertion and make post-workout data relevant and useful. This watch is big, bold and blingy. It weighs a whopping 112g, which felt very heavy during the first day of wear. We got used to it, but one thing is clear: this is for those who want the premium look and feel of a designer watch. However, answering calls from the wrist was far from seamless. Our phone rang for 8 to 10 seconds before it registered on the watch and the connection was also slow, which isn't a great experience. Around a day’s worth of battery life is what you can expect from an MK smartwatch – as well as all Fossil smartwatches using the same tech. This is similar to some of the top smartwatches, including the Apple Watch Series 6, but still might be frustrating if you don’t want to charge it up most days. At 70g, it’s also lightweight compared to Michael Kors alternatives, which makes it a better option for fitness and more wearable every day than the hefty Darci Gen 5E at 80g.The battery can last 24 hours, but that depends on how you use the smartwatch. For example, cranking up full-screen brightness, using GPS and taking heart rate readings will significantly drain it. For iOS users, the Wear OS platform is nowhere near as fluid as Apple's watchOS platform and the Apple Watch, but for Android users everything is a little more seamless, as you would expect. The Michael Kors Gen 5E Darci smartwatch offers a lovely and solid design - if you're into that style. It's got a premium build quality, runs smoothly, and delivers some great features - including the specific Michael Kors features that come with the MK Access app. If you’re attracted to the smarts but usually opt for something light and minimal, the Gen 5E Darci is unlikely to suit you.

We’ve put the latest version of Michael Kors’ sporty smartwatch to the test to see if it can serve up both style and substance this time around. Google and Samsung announced a unified platform that combines Samsung's Tizen OS with Wear OS - which is called Wear OS 3 - though the Gen 5E Darci smartwatch won't be able to run this software. The graph in the Whoop app showed much more sensitivity, but most people would be more than happy with the way Google Fit presents the data from the MKGO 5E – and you could always get a third-party fitness app if you wanted to try other options. There is a 4100 processor out now, and we'll likely see this on Fossil Gen 6 devices at the end of 2021 or early 2022 – so that's something to bear in mind. But again, if you're studying the tech specs list, the Darci 5E will come up short against rivals. The smartwatch uses connected GPS, which worked well most of the time we used it for outdoor activities. Although occasionally it was more fussy than other devices and needed a little longer or a short walk in another direction to connect.Becca has been writing about technology for nearly ten years. In that time she’s covered topics from robotics and virtual reality to simulated universe theory and brain-computer interfaces for a wide range of titles, including TechRadar, New Scientist, Wired UK, OneZero by Medium, Stuff, T3, Metro and many more. Michael Kors was one of the first fashion brands to embrace wearable tech and the MKGO Gen 5E is the latest in the company’s line-up of smartwatches. Size-wise, the watch is 43mm with a 1.19-inch AMOLED screen. There’s a pavé-studded bezel and a crown on the side with the MK logo etched into it. Push it to open up an app menu or long-press to activate Google Assistant. Becca is also interested in how scientific developments and technological advances will impact us all in the near future. Many of her features ask big questions about what’s in store for wearable technology, especially the potential of virtual reality and artificial intelligence.