Tag Heuer partners with Google, Intel on intelligent wearable to take on Apple Watch

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,256   +192
Staff member

tag heuer intel apple watch apple smartwatch luxury watch luxury smartwatch

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is joining forces with Google and Intel to design and develop a luxury smartwatch that’ll compete with Apple’s upcoming wearable. The trio announced the partnership earlier today at the Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show in Switzerland.

Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said his company’s smartwatch would be luxurious yet capable of seamlessly connecting to its wearer’s daily life. The executive is expecting a win-win partnership as Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation and watchmaking credibility, he added.

The intelligent wristwatch will be powered by an Intel-designed chipset that’ll run Google’s Android Wear mobile OS. Naturally, Tag Heuer will be in charge of designing the watch but given its infusion of technology, Biver said it likely won’t be assembled and manufactured in Switzerland which means it wouldn’t be classified as a “Swiss-made” device.

Google has put a lot of weight behind Android Wear but thus far, its efforts haven’t paid big dividends. A recent report from research firm Canalys claimed that manufacturers had collectively shipped just 720,000 Android Wear devices through the end of last year.

In the same respect, Intel hasn’t done much with its Quark SoC since its debut in late 2013. It’s unclear if this is the chip that will power the Hag Heuer watch although all signs suggest that’ll be the case.

The device in question doesn’t yet have a name. Similarly, pricing and an exact launch date weren’t mentioned although Biver teased that the wearable could arrive anytime between October and December – a timeframe that would put it right in line with the lucrative holiday buying season.

Permalink to story.

 
So far Android Wear devices have yet to impress, they're too large with too much functionality. Just give me a watch shaped watch with straight up Android Wear running on it with a bluetooth connection to the phone that's always near me and possibly a small mic to be able to use voice commands for search or to respond to messages.

No need for Wifi or 3/4g connections, or storage, or a camera or anything else that can and should be done with my phone and not a watch. A watch is made to glance at, nothing crazy.
 
Now they are referring to jewelry as 'luxurious'?... How do they hit upon this jargon? A Rolls Royce is luxurious, an ornate palace is luxurious, the shack Bill Gates lives in is luxurious, there's a lot of luxurious things in this world, but a watch? It's just a piece of cold steel. Why don't they just refer to it for what it is, a fancy, unnecessary & expensive gadget.
I wonder if Smith & Wesson refers to a .44 Magnum with ivory grips as 'luxurious' as well.
 
Now they are referring to jewelry as 'luxurious'?... How do they hit upon this jargon? A Rolls Royce is luxurious, an ornate palace is luxurious, the shack Bill Gates lives in is luxurious, there's a lot of luxurious things in this world, but a watch? It's just a piece of cold steel. Why don't they just refer to it for what it is, a fancy, unnecessary & expensive gadget.
I wonder if Smith & Wesson refers to a .44 Magnum with ivory grips as 'luxurious' as well.


Well these watches can easily cost $5000
 
Now they are referring to jewelry as 'luxurious'?... How do they hit upon this jargon? A Rolls Royce is luxurious, an ornate palace is luxurious, the shack Bill Gates lives in is luxurious, there's a lot of luxurious things in this world, but a watch? It's just a piece of cold steel. Why don't they just refer to it for what it is, a fancy, unnecessary & expensive gadget.
I wonder if Smith & Wesson refers to a .44 Magnum with ivory grips as 'luxurious' as well.

Tag Heuer north of $8500 vs. Casio at around $45 set them apart and hence the moniker.
 
Tag Heuer north of $8500 vs. Casio at around $45 set them apart and hence the moniker.
Buying an expensive, normal wristwatch is one thing, it keeps it's value and is relevant for decades so I can understand people buying them besides it's also a fashion statement and looks elegant... but a smartwatch?... which will be obsolete in a years time?... Yeah, right.
If manufacturers want the consumer to hop onto the smartwatch bandwagon then they'd better get the price below $100.
An Apple watch costing $17K?... :eek: I've seen people splurge money on irrational purchases in my time but that has to rank at no.1. Even If I had Bill Gates's fortune I don't think I'm capable of doing something quite so stupid.
If I was forced to blow >$10K on a smartwatch I'd definitely choose TAG Heuer long before an Apple gadget, at least they know a thing or two about making watches.
 
Last edited:
Back