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(Pocket-lint) - Michael Kors has a number of smartwatches in its portfolio, many of which are excellent and a perfect blend of form and function. They all fall under the Fossil umbrella, which not only has its own smartwatches, but also other designer brands outside of Michael Kors, like Kate Spade and Diesel.

The Michael Kors Access Gen 5E Darci smartwatch has the same internals as Fossil's Gen 5E smartwatch, but in a more fashionable shell and with a few additional Michael Kors-specific features. Is this a smartwatch worthy of your attention?

Design and display

The Michael Kors Darci Gen 5E is big, bold and unabashed in its design. For those who like the blingy look that Michael Kors offers in some of its designs, the Darci smartwatch will be perfect for you. For others, the Michael Kors Bradshaw smartwatch might be a better option for a more subtle, but still Kors, approach.

The Darci is certainly an acquired taste, but that's not a bad thing as such. In terms of build quality it's brilliant, although it would have been nice to see the stainless steel case extend to the rear of the watch, rather than the plastic alternative, although that would have made the Darci even heavier - and that's bad enough heavy at 112g.

Again, the weight isn't a bad thing, although the wrist does take some getting used to. It offers a premium feel, which you'd expect from a standard Michael Kors watch, so why should a smartwatch be any different? The case itself is quite chunky - protruding 20mm from the wrist - making it thick enough to wear, but not uncomfortable, while the stainless steel link bracelet gives a decent watch look.

On the side of the stainless steel case is an engraved “MK” crown, although this does not rotate. Then you'll find the heart rate monitor under the case and a 1.19-inch AMOLED display on top, with a thin stainless steel bezel surrounded by pavé studs.

The screen is crisp, colorful and responsive, providing a great experience. It could be bigger in the space it takes up, offering a more edge-to-edge approach, like the Apple Watch Series 7, but overall it's a lovely display.

Features and Fitness

The Michael Kors Gen 5E Darci smartwatch comes packed with features. Compatible with Apple iOS and Google Android devices, the Darci will deliver all your smartphone notifications, let you answer phone calls on your wrist and there's also NFC for Google Pay.

There's also Google Assistant on board, allowing you to ask for things like your step count and set reminders. You can also control music through the Darci, play and pause tracks, as well as skip and control volume. You can also download songs to on-board storage to listen to if you don't want to take your phone with you.

In terms of fitness features, there are plenty here too. It's more about whether you really want to train wearing the Darci or sleep with it on for the sleep tracking element. If you do, there's built-in GPS, waterproofing, tracking various exercises with Google Fit or third-party apps, heart rate tracking and standard step tracking too. There are also breathing exercises, a wellness app, and a handwashing timer.

It's the extra Michael Kors features that make the Darci more exciting than other Wear OS smartwatches. The MK Access app lets you choose from a range of Michael Kors watch faces. This gives it a distinctive design appeal.

We have a Michael Kors Access tips and tricks feature that dives into all the details and what's available, but in a nutshell, it lets you customize watch faces to your outfit, use images from your social networks and switch between day and night modes. It's one of the things we love most about Michael Kors smartwatches.

Performance

The Darci runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset - which isn't the latest available after the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ launched in June 2020. That's not a big deal though, as the Darci runs well with little lag really. It was on par with the Apple Watch Series 7 (worn on our other wrist - that's how hardcore we got in testing) in terms of fast notification delivery.

The main problem - particularly when connected to an iPhone - is that you can't do much with the notifications that come in. You can answer a call, although it will transfer to your phone to continue the call, and we've had a number of occasions where it also dropped the call, as well as the battery draining a bit during a long active call. There's also no way to reply to messages, so the information is provided, but the functionality of what you can then do with it is limited.

Heart rate tracking is good in our experience and was again on par with the Apple Watch Series 7, although the Darci just isn't a well-suited smartwatch for workouts. It's too heavy, too uncomfortable when you start to sweat, and just not practical at all. Ditto for sleep tracking: it's not a smartwatch that we were comfortable enough to wear to bed.

Battery life is about a day. It promises 24 hours, but that naturally depends on what you're doing and how many notifications are sent, as well as how many calls you make or receive. We went to bed each day with some juice, but didn't spend much time the next day - so it's a charging situation each night.

There are a few smart battery modes though, including a Time-Only mode which will show the time on the always-on face, but provide no notification. It's ideal for when the battery is low but you don't just want a black circle on your wrist. There's also a custom option, a daily option, and an extended mode, the latter of which makes some tweaks to extend battery life, such as scheduling Bluetooth.

Software

The Michael Kors Gen 5E Darci smartwatch runs on Google's Wear OS platform and therefore offers all the features that come with it - Google Fit, Find My Phone, Google support Play, etc

Google and Samsung have announced a unified platform that combines Samsung's Tizen operating system with Wear OS - which is called Wear OS 3 - although the Gen 5E Darci smartwatch can't run that software.

This means that while the Wear OS platform works well - it offers good third-party support and various features, as well as an easy-to-navigate interface - you won't get the latest features offered by Wear OS 3, as the Galaxy Watch 4 offers.

For iOS users, the Wear OS platform isn't nearly as smooth as Apple's watchOS platform and the Apple Watch, but for Android users, everything's a bit more seamless, as can be seen. expect it.

The Michael Kors Gen 5E Darci smartwatch offers a lovely, solid design - if you're into that style. It's got a superior build quality, runs smoothly and offers great features, including the Michael Kors specific features that come with the MK Access app.

However, it's not a smartwatch that makes sense for fitness tracking - even if it has the capabilities - nor is it a watch we'd recommend for sleep tracking. It also doesn't offer the latest hardware and it's not compatible with Google's latest software - Wear OS 3.

If you're looking for a smart and stylish smartwatch and the blingy style is a bit of your thing, then the Michael Kors Gen 5E Darci is a good option to consider. But if you're looking for a smartwatch that does a little more in terms of overall fitness and functionality, there are better options, like the Apple Watch Series 7 or the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

Also consider

Apple Watch SE

Apple's entry-level is about the same price as the Darci, but it does a lot more in terms of features fitness and smartwatch features, and plays much better with iOS devices. It's a totally different style, of course.

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

While not quite as blingy as the Darci, Samsung's high-end watch runs on the latest Wear OS hardware and software. It's not compatible with Apple iOS devices though, nor does it offer those MK faces. But it's still easily the best smartwatch for Android users.

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Michael Kors Bradshaw 2

A much more subtle design compared to the Darci, making it a bit more versatile. It still won't be compatible with Wear OS 3 and it doesn't run the latest hardware, but it's a nice smartwatch - and very Kors.

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