The watch industry’s big trade fair, Baselworld, started today, and the first smartwatch announcement is a bit of a deflation. TAG Heuer and Intel went public with their much-rumored alliance, but it turns out that the software behind it will be Android Wear.
Reuters reports that the hardware will be based on TAG Heuer’s popular Carerra design, pictured here. There are many variants on the base Carerra face, but the central idea is a large clock face with three smaller dials. The news agency quotes Jean-Claude Bivet, TAG Heuer’s CEO, as saying the smartwatch will look just like a standard Carerra, but with the usual smartwatch functionality.
It’s perhaps indicative of Apple’s power in the market that the Reuters article says that the TAG Heuer watch will have “many of the same functions as the Apple watch such as geolocation, distance walked and altitude.” These, of course, are the functions of most fitness trackers, let alone smartwatches — let alone that the distinguishing feature of the Apple Watch is its UI, and that its functionality goes well beyond the three features Reuters mentions.
The initial press release regarding the collaboration came from Intel, and does not say anything about the watch itself — features, availability, or pricing. [UPDATE: Bloomberg reports that the watch will be available later this year, and that pricing and further details will be announced then.]
Bivet is quoted by Reuters as saying that Apple will expand the watch market, although he’s a little snotty about it:
“Apple will get young people used to wearing a watch and later maybe they will want to buy themselves a real watch,” Biver said.
We suspect that that “real watch” comment will find its way onto bulletin boards in California…
Great post Dan- This was my argument all along, that although the iWatch is a great piece of kit, the majority of people who like wearing watches actually appreciate a good piece and therefore often spend hundreds if not thousands on designer pieces including Tag watches- so, will those watch lovers really want to give up their quality pieces for something available in neon green that pings at you?
I own three “real watches” from TAG, and have purchased two TAGs as gifts for my wife. I am a member of the silver surfer generation, and would appreciate a smart timepiece that is fashionable and functional. I admit that frequently I wear my watch as a habit or fashion accessory. I more frequently these days use my iPhone as my timekeeper and time teller. So really, TAG and Intel, why not ask customers what they want? And please Jean-Claude, don’t patronize me or ignore the importance of the millennial generation. I suspect that more mature customers will purchase the Apple Watch than you think
And, when the youth market you ignore matures, their preferences for brands will be largely rooted in the brands they experience today, if their brands don’t abandon them.