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TAG Heuer launching $1500 smartwatch today, claims “almost same features as an Apple Watch”

carrera

Update: The TAG Heuer Connected is now official. It goes on sale for $1500 very soon, has a 46mm case, connects with Android and iOS phones and will be available with a choice of 7 different color straps. Watch the promo video, see the official press renders and read up on the full official details here.

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer has announced that its Android Wear-based Carrera Connected smartwatch, launching today in New York, will have “almost the same functions as an Apple Watch.”

TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver told Le Matin Dimanche that he didn’t want to reveal too much ahead of today’s official unveiling, which takes place at 11am ET … 

Our watch will have almost the same features as an Apple Watch, but I don’t want to say too much.

The watch, which is based on the company’s traditional Carrera watch (above right), is made from titanium and will offer a choice of six, brightly-colored wristbands. The company has so far revealed few details.

One interesting question will be whether the Carrera Connected can be called ‘Swiss made’: the law says that 50% of the components must be made within Switzerland to qualify, and TAG Heuer is buying in the smartwatch components from the USA.

Biver has previously suggested that the Apple Watch may get younger people used to wearing a watch and that they would then want “a real watch.” The company may have to work hard on its sales efforts after Apple last year poached its VP of Sales and Retail, but TAG Heuer seems to be aiming small, stating that just 1,000 units will go on sale in New York before the European launch later this week.

You’ll be able to watch a livestream of the event on YouTube.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfOJWjsLT5M]

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Comments

  1. What a stupid thing to say. After bashing/slagging off the Apple Watch you can’t release a product and say it’s ‘nearly’ as feature packed as the watch you just bashed/slagged off. What kind of thinking is that?!

    • It’s the kind of thinking where someone realizes they made a mistake and said something stupid. Instead of being obstinate and doubling down on stupid, they get with the trend and try to sell something. People say dumb stuff. What would you want him to do? Stick with stupid?

      • incredibilistic - 8 years ago

        I think it’s more interesting that so many companies ran with the “heritage” concept — that people don’t want smartwatches because they don’t hold value over time and can’t be passed down to the next generation — have all completely switched gears.

        This is yet another sign of Apple’s power and prominence over any industry they set their sights on. I don’t recall hearing these types of claims when Samsung and Google entered the market a year prior to Apple Watch yet it’s the product that symbolizes the entire market.

      • Soluble Apps - 8 years ago

        I think the “heritage” angle was just an excuse to sell a massively overpriced watch.

  2. rnc - 8 years ago

    Poor JCB, must be tough for him…

  3. rogifan - 8 years ago

    Who’s going to to buy it? It’s going to be expensive and it’s not going to work with iPhone as well as Apple Watch does. People into watches will just buy a nice mechanical watch.

  4. markbyrn (@markbyrn) - 8 years ago

    Almost only counts in horseshoes

  5. lkrupp215 - 8 years ago

    TAG Heuer, the new Samsung!

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      Only a fanboy could post a comment that stupid…what’s even more stupid is the fact that it has four likes already. I get that most of you know absolutely nothing about watches and are just techies, but you may want to look at the pieces TH has produced in the past — they are works of art. If you’re not into watches though, they may appear stupid…that’s fine, but you still can not deny the crasftmanship that goes into their designs.

  6. hodar0 - 8 years ago

    It’s nearly as good as an Apple Watch, at 3x the price.

  7. Bill Goodman - 8 years ago

    So if it’s nearly the same as an Apple Watch, why would I want to spend the money on that when an Apple Watch is cheaper.

    • incredibilistic - 8 years ago

      Because, silly, we all like paying more for something and getting less.

      /s

    • rnc - 8 years ago

      It’s not “nearly”, it doesn’t have an HRM, it doesn’t make calls, etc…

  8. justincirello - 8 years ago

    I will say, I do like the Carrerra watch (original).. That is something I would buy.

  9. kpjimmy - 8 years ago

    I am seeing that what is reported here the comparisons of what people think the watch will look like. If you see the teaser pic it shows a bezel with numbers and the right picture, where it was reported to be modeled after does not. So I reserve judgement until 10am lol. Then I will either bash it or buy it.

  10. jmiko2015 - 8 years ago

    oh my god he’s screaming so loud I hear him from my window

    • surfingarbo - 8 years ago

      That was the funniest keynote I have ever seen. The cheese cutting at the end made my day.

  11. TechS3ek (@TechS3ek) - 8 years ago

    Kairos as a Swiss watch has already done it as the first swiss smartwatch which so far happens to be the most innovative one btw! but probably TAG HEUER is the first swiss’s iconic and luxuries brand to join the smart watch.

  12. Joe Mecca - 8 years ago

    I’m 52 and have no use for a watch, everywhere I look there is a clock. My reason for purchasing an apple watch was to liberate me from my phone and it does that by providing me with: Alerts, Notifications, Messages, and I really like the exercise/health app. Tag, I think you are missing the point and in about 10 years, a watch will no longer mean a “Clock” – it will simply be a piece of jewelry like earrings or a necklace and I think apple has already started that movement.

    • alfredprunesquallor - 8 years ago

      How does it “liberate” you from your iPhone if you still have to carry it with you to make the watch work?

      The luxury watch industry survived the “quartz crisis” 40 years ago, and will not be phased by smart watches. The market that may be most impacted is the cheap timex/seiko brands.

  13. srgmac - 8 years ago

    Wow, this is absolutely beautiful and stunning. The one thing I never cared for though are Titanium watches…they are just too light. Some people love them…I get it, it’s preference — but they just feel too thin and light like I’m not even wearing a watch. I have one Tag Ti watch and I barely wear it — the problem with it being so light is I forget it’s there, it just doesn’t feel right, and I often bang it into things unknowingly. For a smart watch though, it may be a little bit different, since the extra circuitry makes the watch bigger and bulkier automatically…titanium may be a good option for that. I’ll have to give this a try!

  14. Advance Bulletin - 8 years ago

    Well, Apple is much better in terms of both quality and price.I should prefer Apple over TAG heuer

  15. finally a smart watch that has a real refined design

  16. everyone does understand that Android is 90 percent of the world so not sure what the big fuss is . Who cares if it works with iphone or any apple product? Apple no doubt blew it with the watch. Apple is a great company but by no means made a great watch . The Apple diehards will buy anything and that is because Apple is the best marketing machine in the world NOT because its the best product . When you can get a ” real” watchmaker” in the game thats progress . Apple will always do well but watches will not be one of them .

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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