TAG Heuer unveils $1,500 'Connected' smartwatch running Android Wear
The Swiss watch industry fired its first significant shot across the Apple Watch's bow with the Monday revelation of TAG Heuer's Connected smartwatch, sporting a classic design, a titanium case, and a $1,500 price tag.
The "Connected" is modeled after TAG's famous Carrera watch, swapping the standard face out for a 1.5-inch circular LTPS LCD touchscreen display. It's sheathed in a nearly identical titanium case to its mechanical doppleg?nger, and ships with a choice of colorful rubber straps.
The watchmaker has chosen to outfit the Connected with only a basic suite of sensors, including a gyroscope, tilt detection -- likely in the form of an accelerometer -- and microphone. Absent are advanced biological sensors, like a heart rate monitor, commonly found in other Android Wear smartwatches.
Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11 b/g/n/ WiFi make up the connectivity suite. TAG Heuer has partnered with Intel for the device's processor, which the company describes as a 1.6-gigahertz dual-core unit with 500 megahertz "normal operation speed."
1 gigabyte of RAM and 4 gigabytes of flash storage round out the technical specifications.
The most interesting feature is not a feature at all, however. After two years, TAG will allow Connected buyers to swap their old watch -- plus another $1,500 -- and receive a mechanical TAG Heuer watch in return.
The TAG Heuer Connected is available now for $1,500 from TAG Heuer retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada. An international rollout is scheduled soon.
The "Connected" is modeled after TAG's famous Carrera watch, swapping the standard face out for a 1.5-inch circular LTPS LCD touchscreen display. It's sheathed in a nearly identical titanium case to its mechanical doppleg?nger, and ships with a choice of colorful rubber straps.
The watchmaker has chosen to outfit the Connected with only a basic suite of sensors, including a gyroscope, tilt detection -- likely in the form of an accelerometer -- and microphone. Absent are advanced biological sensors, like a heart rate monitor, commonly found in other Android Wear smartwatches.
Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11 b/g/n/ WiFi make up the connectivity suite. TAG Heuer has partnered with Intel for the device's processor, which the company describes as a 1.6-gigahertz dual-core unit with 500 megahertz "normal operation speed."
1 gigabyte of RAM and 4 gigabytes of flash storage round out the technical specifications.
The most interesting feature is not a feature at all, however. After two years, TAG will allow Connected buyers to swap their old watch -- plus another $1,500 -- and receive a mechanical TAG Heuer watch in return.
The TAG Heuer Connected is available now for $1,500 from TAG Heuer retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada. An international rollout is scheduled soon.
Comments
Are there any pictures out there that aren't computer renders?
Is it a shipping product, or just an announcement of what they want to ship?
Pretty much everything is a computer render now days. Even Apple products. What's the big deal?
Pretty much everything is a computer render now days. Even Apple products. What's the big deal?
Found one:
That's the big deal... it looks cheap and ugly in real life.
This is good for Apple.
That's cheap. $1500 for the connected, $1500 to swap out in two years. $3000 total for a mechanical Carrera is a great deal.
Doesn't actually say a Carrera, just a 'mechanical Tag Heuer' ...
Did they say how long a charge lasts? Gotta think inclusion of GPS is gonna suck...
Edited: Gyroscope, not GPS
Nope!
$1500 for the watch, $1500 for the swap. So $1500 to have a smartwatch for now, and when you're done with having a smartwatch you can trade it in, and throw out another $1500, and they'll hand you an exclusively designed Carrera that typically costs $5000 or more. This way your watch doesn't just become obsolete and sit in a drawer, it becomes timeless?.
the assumption is 25 hours of so with the 410mAh battery. Who knows until a few people buy one and report, which may take awhile. I think there's only 1000 being made available for sale here in the US.
That's cheap. $1500 for the connected, $1500 to swap out in two years. $3000 total for a mechanical Carrera is a great deal.
You're kidding yourself if you think they're going to sell a regular Carrera + the smartwatch for $3000. The mechanical watch is obviously going to be some cheaper version. Maybe something like $2000 watch.
There is a more detailed article here.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-09/tag-heuer-connected-watch-from-google-and-intel-specs
Wow, that's going to be flying off the shelves... Directly into the discount bins.