Smart watches like the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Apple Watch are slowly gaining mainstream appeal, thanks to the convenience of having a connected device right on your wrist. Despite smart watches becoming more prevalent, it still doesn’t cut the mustard in terms of style. TAG Heuer, a brand that has never been shy to embrace new technologies and push the boundaries of watch making, wishes to change all that by becoming the first watch brand to launch their own smart watch.
The TAG Heuer Connected smart watch is a collaborate effort between the Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley techies. It’s based on an Android platform, featuring all the usual goodies we’ve seen in Android Wear, while being powered by Intel for optimal performance. The watch is even iOS compatible via the Android Wear app for iOS, but the standout feature for the TAG Heuer Connected might just be the convincingly beautiful and chunky design that embraces many design cues from analogue watches. The body is built from titanium while the face features several of TAG Heuer’s most iconic watch faces and a suite of microapplications that should satisfy both traditionalists and the tech savvy. For those that are worried that the watch will be obsolete after a few years, TAG Heuer is offering owners the option to trade it in for an analogue watch.
The TAG Heuer Connected offers the style that has been missing from recent smart watches, but comes at a premium price befitting of the luxury brand at $1,500 USD. Compared to other Android watches, it is definitely a premium that may be hard to swallow. Timex and TAG Heuer both tell time, but people seem to justify paying a higher premium for the latter; we’ll have to see if the same applies to smart watches as well.