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TAG Heuer announced its first smartwatch this morning and it is indeed called the TAG Heuer Connected. Made in partnership with Google and Intel, this is the first time we have seen a Swiss watchmaker take on the smartwatch category.
The watch has the smarts of Android Wear, which you knew, since it was built as an Android Wear device. But as a luxury watch, it has a titanium case, “signature” strap that comes in seven different colors, and a high-resolution, “transflective” sapphire glass display. It also features a bunch of TAG Heuer dials or watch faces, so you can make this look like a normal TAG watch.
Edit: Here are more specs. The Connected has a 1.5-inch circular LCD display (360×360, 240ppi) with sapphire crystal, 46mm Titanium Grade 2 case that is 12.8mm thick, IP67 water resistance, vulcanized rubber strap, 410mAh battery, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage, Bluetooth 4.1, and WiFi. Full specs.
The press event is still going right now and no one has mentioned price ($1,500 is the latest rumor), (Edit: It is Indeed $1,500) only that it will be available today in 20 select boutiques. We’ll update this as we have more.
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Update: Here is a video with some specs and an overview of the “journey.”
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Update 2: At noon Eastern, you should be able to buy the watch at TAG’s site or select boutiques. Here is a direct link to the Connected on TAG’s site.
Update 3: In some of the first conversations TAG Heuer made public about the Connected, they talked about it being upgradable over time on some level. They briefly talked about that today, saying that the Connected comes with a 2-year warranty. At the end of that 2-year period, when the watch is likely outdated and about to die, because that’s how technology like this works, you can trade it in, pay another $1,500, and they will give you a traditional TAG Carrera watch, which probably carries around a $3,000+ price tag at retail. We are looking for more details on this and will update as we have them.
Update 4: Here is the full press release.
TAG Heuer Presents the “TAG Heuer Connected” Watch
The first connected watch developed by a Swiss luxury watchmaker, engineered with Intel Inside and powered by Android Wear™
#ConnectedToEternity
New York, United States, 9th November 2015 – Today, TAG Heuer, Intel Corporation and Google unveiled a connected watch, designed by Luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer, engineered with Intel technology and benefiting from everything the Android Wear universe has to offer.
The TAG Heuer Connected Watch with Intel Inside was revealed at a press conference at the symbolic LVMH Tower hosted by Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer & President of the LVMH Group’s Watches Division, accompanied by Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel Corporation, and David Singleton, VP of Engineering for Android at Google.
Jean-Claude Biver announced: “We are incredibly proud to be unveiling the first connected watch, which brings more than 150 years of history firmly into the future. The TAG Heuer Connected watch gives you the means not only to connect to the future, but also to connect to eternity.”
Brian Krzanich emphasized: “Intel makes amazing experiences possible with smart, connected technology. Together with TAG Heuer and Google we created a beautiful, intelligent and functional product that harmonizes the latest computing innovation with more than a century of watchmaking experience, timeless aesthetics and supreme quality.”
David Singleton agreed: “From Google Search to smartwatches, Google strives to give you the right information, at exactly the right time and place. Android is how we bring this helpful experience to many of the world’s devices. TAG Heuer Connected, powered by Android Wear, is a luxury watch that’s beautiful and incredibly useful. We are thrilled to present it along with TAG Heuer and Intel.”
What is the TAG Heuer Connected Watch?
The TAG Heuer Connected Watch with Intel Inside is a luxury watch that benefits from over 150 years of Swiss expertise, savoir-faire and heritage as cultivated by TAG Heuer, a watch manufacture based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the cradle of Swiss watchmaking and a UNESCO World Heritage site set at an altitude of 1000 metres, in the middle of Alpine pastures and mountains.
Here, watchmakers have been spending the winter in their workshops (in summer, they farm in the pastures) since the 18th century, inventing incredible watches, which have built the unique reputation and extraordinary image of quality and exclusivity that Swiss watches enjoy the world over. For more than 150 years, TAG Heuer has been inventing and manufacturing elegant sports watches in the city, including some of the most accurate chronographs produced by the Swiss watch industry.
At 46 mm in diameter, the design of the TAG Heuer Connected is primarily that of a true chronograph, with a case, back and lugs made from grade 2 titanium, a contemporary material ensuring the watch is lighter and more resistant to impacts than a traditional material such as steel or gold. Completed by a textured black rubber strap (six other colors – red, blue, white, orange, green and yellow – are available, sold separately) with a deploying buckle made of grade 2 titanium as well, it has all the elegance, characteristics and level of finish expected from a fine wristwatch. The price is set at 1500 USD, 1’350 Euros, 1’400 CHF, 1’100 GBP.
To reinforce its watch DNA…
For the first time, TAG Heuer has developed three digital watch dials (known as watch faces), which feature the immediately recognizable design codes of TAG Heuer’s Carrera collection, including hands, index, counters, date window and minute track.
The following will be available from the launch date: the chronograph dial, the 3-hand dial and the GMT dial, all of which display the date and are available in a choice of three colors (black, deep blue or pearl white), faithfully reproducing the appearance and functions of a true dial, with shadows under the hands and the beautiful sunburst effect of the light. And because the TAG Heuer Connected is above all a watch, the digital hands and indexes remain visible at all times, even when the watch is in ambient energy-saving mode.
Soon, other watch faces will be made available, so you can try one customized by TAG Heuer’s ambassadors via the exclusive TAG Heuer app which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
And to make it even more unique
The TAG Heuer Connected is a true watch, both in terms of its appearance, with its watch faces and its minute tracks, but also in its “interactive counters”, thanks to the unique way in which its applications are displayed.
The principle is simple: the dial and the hands remain, while the most pertinent information from partner applications is elegantly displayed inside the three counters on the chronograph dial at 12, 6 and 9 o’clock, completely integrated into the watch’s aesthetic environment.
What if something shown in a counter really interests you? Touch the counter in question to open and interact with the application in full screen mode.
Favorite applications, sports updates or alerts… it is easy to use and makes information simple to read, enabling the user to stay focused on the essential, without this spoiling the watch’s classic appearance. The apps customized for TAG Heuer and available on an exclusive basis will be, to start with, Insiders (lifestyle), GolfShot Pro (golf), RaceChrono Pro (motor racing) and Viewrangers (trailing), which will be offered with free subscriptions. A specially developed Software Development Kit (SDK) will allow enrichment.
In addition, TAG Heuer has added the classic functions that are a key part of the watch universe: Timer, Alarm and Stopwatch, the design of which is faithful to the brand’s codes.
Smart. But to what extent?
Living, travelling, getting information, connecting… the TAG Heuer Connected watch is the perfect partner. It brings together the best of both worlds: a magnificent TAG Heuer watch with computing intelligence.
TAG Heuer worked closely with Intel and Google to create a luxury watch that combined connectivity and computing intelligence with Swiss watchmaking heritage. The watch features an Intel® Atom™ processor Z34XX and runs the Android Wear platform.
Intel engineered the intelligence inside the watch to optimize performance and enable a multitude of connectivity options including audio streaming, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as well as allow users to harness the full range of features offered by the Android Wear operating system.
With 4 GB of memory, and all day battery life thanks to its latest-generation lithium battery, the TAG Heuer Connected is equipped with a small microphone to communicate with via Google voice control and a sapphire crystal touchscreen – the indispensable complement to the crown at 3 o’clock which also houses controls. The entire piece has been made water resistant for everyday use and is IP67 water resistance rated.
What if the phone is not with you? No problem. The watch will continue to calculate, display, and exchange data, and as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection it will remain connected to the cloud. Naturally, its resident applications (music, timer, alarm, step counter) remain active even when no connection is available.
Android Wear opens the watch up to an almost infinite universe, an ecosystem that enriches itself night and day: thousands of Android applications are already available for the TAG Heuer Connected watch user to download. The key applications, currently used by millions, such as Google Fit, Google Translate, Google Maps and Google Search with your voice are already available on the watch, and show you information with just a glance.
The watch can also be easily synced with a phone running either on Android 4.3+ or iOS 8.2+. It is charged using a contact charger. Simply place the watch on top to recharge it.
The watch also benefits from a two-year warranty, like other TAG Heuer watches.
A connected watch that can also be a timeless gift
Finally anyone who purchases a TAG Heuer Connected watch will have the opportunity to exchange it for a mechanical watch with real Swiss movement inside.
At the end of the connected watch’s two-year warranty period, customers can go to the TAG Heuer store of his or her choice to exchange the TAG Heuer Connected watch for a mechanical Swiss Made Carrera watch. With similar design, also made from grade 2 titanium, this mechanical watch has been exclusively developed and reserved for owners of connected watches. Its price is set at 1500 USD, 1’350 Euros, 1’400 CHF, 1’100 GBP.
To complete the experience, an online platform that brings all users together
A dedicated online platform tagheuerconnected.com has been created to share the latest new features and obtain the partner applications available for the interactive counters watch faces. The TAG Heuer Connected watch is available for sale right now from the site tagheuer.com and in more than 100 TAG Heuer boutiques and 150 carefully selected retailers across the world. The list of points of sale can be viewed at tagheuerconnected.com
*TAG Heuer is the Swiss watchmaker that invented the oscillating pinion in 1887, the first chronograph accurate to 1/100th of a second in 1916, the first chronograph to go into space on the wrist of the American John Glenn in February 1962, of the Heuer Carrera in 1963, of the Monaco V4 in 2004 with the first movement driven by belts as fine as a hair, and of the TAG Heuer Carrera Mikropendulum in 2013 with the first magnetic chronograph.
About TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer? The Swiss Avant-Garde watchmaker since 1860. Avant-garde is in our culture and philosophy. Our unique heritage is built on pushing boundaries and breaking rules: harnessing mental fortitude to overcome technology restraints and create daring luxury watches with real racing spirit and a performance touch. The brand has marked the history of watchmaking, especially in the field of chronographs with an unequalled mechanical accuracy. With Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and President of the LVMH Group Watch Division at the helm, the 2015 models reveal a new dynamic in terms of both the fast lead times and a completely transformed environment. TAG Heuer is currently the only watch brand to be able to communicate in the four different worlds: Art, Lifestyle, Sport and Heritage. Our partnerships (Bundesliga, World Surf League & Big Wave Tour, FIA Formula E, Monaco Grand Prix…) and our ambassadors, living football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, it-girl Cara Delevingne, American
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