TAG Heuer teases with launch date, image of forthcoming smartwatch
Luxury watch maker TAG Heuer’s first entry into the smartwatch space has an unveiling date with the company launching a teaser site Monday.
Unimaginatively called the TAG Heuer Connected, the watch will be revealed to the world November 9, 2015.
Along with a teaser photo (see above), the description of the watch on the site reads “TAG Heuer is pushing the Swiss avant-garde limits even further with the TAG Heuer Connected. Tradition meets innovation, craftsmanship meets savoir-faire, and bold style meets breakthrough technology. The clock is ticking to the major breakthrough.”
The watch has been developed in conjunction with both Google and Intel, and while the Google relationship is obvious given we already know from previous reports that the watch will be running Android Wear, Intel’s involvement isn’t a clear, with Ars Technica speculating that it may be via the inclusion of Intel’s “Quark” system on a chip (SoC) integrated circuit.
Other details on the watch are slim, although TAG Heuer’s Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Biver has previously told CNBC that the watch will retail for $1,800; we also know visually that the watch is based on the TAG Heuer Black Carrera and may also offer 40 hours battery life.
Quality
Aside from the rest of the specs for the watch, the biggest question still outstanding is where is the watch being made, and by whom?
$1,800 is a premium price for a smartwatch and those who buy watches at that price point are looking for quality. But we already know that TAG Heuer isn’t making the electronics, with CEO Biver previously saying that hardware and software is coming from Silicon Valley, which likely means via a factory in Taiwan or mainland China, given the people who design the technology may be in Silicon Valley, but those who actually make them are not.
To be fair; the watch case, dial, design, idea, and the crown will still be Swiss, but still: $1,800 for a watch that could well sport the same hardware as other watches running Android Wear that sell for $150 changes the value proposition straight away.
Whatever it ends up running, we’ll have to wait another 29 days to find out.
Image credit: TAG Heuer.
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