Speedup a Fossil Q Explorist

A friend of mine gifted me a Fossil Q Explorist, a smartwatch from 2017. After giving the 9 year old battery a charge it seems to hold a charge to get me through the entire day. That was honestly surprising!

Setting it up was super simple.

A factory reset on the watch
Downloaded Google Wear OS
Paired it without issue in Google Wear OS

The only issue was the speed of Android on the watch itself. It was so laggy up to the point it was unusable. So I fixed it, and so can you.

NOTE: I just want notifications, watchfaces and a bluetooth connection to my phone for communication. If your desired usage differs from mine, make sure to change the selection of packages to uninstall.

On the watch:

First connect the watch to a 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi network (I made a hotspot on my phone) by going to Settings > Connectivity.
On the watch go to Settings > System > About and click the line that says Build number 7 times. This unlocks Developer mode.
Go to the new option Settings > Developer options.
Enable ADB debugging.
Enable Debug over Wi-Fi.
Write down the IP-address it shows at this option.

On a laptop:

Connect to the same 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi network.
Download ADB (https://dl.google.com/android/repository/platform-tools-latest-windows.zip) and unzip it somewhere you can find it.
Open a command prompt / Terminal.
Connect to the watch using the IP-address you wrote down, by typing:

adb connect written-down-ip-address:5555

To see the list of packages that is installed on your watch, type:

adb shell pm list packages

This gave me the following output:

C:\platform-tools>adb shell pm list packages
package:com.android.cts.priv.ctsshim
package:com.google.android.ext.services
package:com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
package:com.android.providers.calendar
package:com.android.providers.media
package:com.fossil.maze
package:com.google.android.wearable.smarthome
package:com.google.android.ext.shared
package:com.google.android.clockwork.flashlight
package:com.fossil.wearables.watchfaces
package:com.google.android.wearable.setupwizard
package:com.android.providers.downloads
package:com.dianping.v1
package:com.google.android.wearable.overlay.gms
package:com.fossil.elabel
package:com.fossil.run.bluegill
package:com.google.android.theme.bluegill.fossil
package:com.android.defcontainer
package:com.android.vending
package:android.autoinstalls.config.google.wear
package:com.sogou.map.android.maps
package:com.android.certinstaller
package:com.google.android.marvin.talkback
package:com.sdu.didi.psnger
package:android
package:com.google.android.apps.wearable.settings
package:com.android.backupconfirm
package:com.google.android.deskclock
package:com.google.android.wearable.overlay.home
package:com.mobvoi.ticwear.sidewearvoicesearch
package:com.android.statementservice
package:com.google.android.buttons.bluegill.fossil
package:com.android.providers.settings
package:com.google.android.apps.wearable.bluetooth
package:com.google.android.apps.wearable.systemui
package:com.google.android.clockwork.gestures.tutorial
package:com.android.se
package:com.android.inputdevices
package:com.fossil.wearables.ds
package:com.fossil.wearables.ea
package:com.fossil.wearables.mk
package:com.fossil.oemsetup.bluegill
package:com.android.server.telecom
package:com.android.keychain
package:com.google.android.packageinstaller
package:com.google.android.gms
package:com.google.android.gsf
package:com.google.android.tts
package:com.google.android.wearable.ambient
package:com.google.android.clockwork.remindersle
package:com.google.android.clockwork.hotwordle
package:com.android.managedprovisioning
package:com.google.android.wearable.reminders
package:com.google.android.clockworkicons
package:com.google.android.clockwork.leswitch
package:com.google.android.apps.wearable.retailattractloop
package:com.google.android.apps.wearable.phone
package:com.google.android.apps.translate
package:com.cei.servicetool
package:com.google.android.inputmethod.pinyin
package:com.mobvoi.ticwear.aw.appstore
package:com.google.android.wearable.app
package:ctrip.android.view
package:com.android.cts.ctsshim
package:com.android.shell
package:com.android.wallpaperbackup
package:com.android.providers.blockednumber
package:com.android.providers.userdictionary
package:com.gotokeep.androidwear
package:com.android.location.fused
package:com.amberweather.watch
package:com.android.bluetooth
package:com.qualcomm.timeservice
package:com.android.providers.contacts
package:com.google.android.wearable.frameworkpackagestubs
package:com.fossil.charge.bluegill
package:com.eg.android.AlipayGphone
package:com.mobvoi.ticwear.tts
package:com.android.connectivity.metrics
package:com.google.android.inputmethod.latin

To remove the Fossil bloat, type:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.fossil.maze
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.fossil.elabel
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.fossil.run.bluegill
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.fossil.wearables.ds
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.fossil.wearables.ea
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.fossil.wearables.mk

To remove the chinese bloat, type:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.dianping.v1
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.sogou.map.android.maps
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.sdu.didi.psnger
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.cei.servicetool
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 ctrip.android.view
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.gotokeep.androidwear
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.eg.android.AlipayGphone

To remove the Mobvoi/Ticwear bloat, type:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.mobvoi.ticwear.sidewearvoicesearch
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.mobvoi.ticwear.aw.appstore
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.mobvoi.ticwear.tts

To remove some Google packages, type:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.wearable.phone
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.wearable.retailattractloop
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.translate
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.marvin.talkback
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.clockwork.flashlight
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.vending
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.amberweather.watch
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.vending

After that I rebooted the watch, just for good measure and the difference is night and day!