Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer announced the launch of its first-ever smartwatch made in partnership with Intel and Google at a press conference in New York on Monday, Nov. 9.
"It's not enough to have tradition because tradition connects you to yesterday, but we need to be connected to tomorrow," TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said. "Today is the marriage of Watch Valley and the Silicon Valley, the marriage of American and Switzerland. It's a political, economical, industrial marriage."
Called the TAG Heuer Connected, the Android Wear-based smartwatch retails for $1,500 and became available starting at 12 p.m. in New York City.
Biver revealed that the goal was to make it not "look like a connected watch," to differentiate it from other smartwatches like the Apple Watch. So it is modeled after the classic mechanical Carrera model, but still equipped with smart functionalities that allow users to receive notifications right from their wrist.
The Connected Watch is 46.2 mm across and 12.8 mm thick and is made of titanium, making it lightweight, and features a touch screen that is covered in sapphire crystal, giving it a luxury feel.
The smartwatch is powered by Intel processors and runs on Google's Android Wear which uses Bluetooth technology and Wi-Fi to enable the user to view their emails, texts, and traffic info from the watch face, along with a microphone for voice commands.
TAG also developed its own apps for Connected, which includes an alarm and stopwatch, and the watch has 4 GB of storage available. There is no heart rate sensor or GPS in the watch, but it can track the user's steps.
The Connected will give users up to 30 hours of battery life, and comes with a USB charging cradle.
The company developed three different watch faces for its first-ever smartwatch, which include a chronograph, a 3-hand dial, and a world time face options. The watches come with six different-colored rubber straps with a titanium buckle for further personalization.
To further make the Connected an eternal purchase, the company also announced it is "giving birth to eternity in a box." Consumers who don't want to upgrade it to the next-generation model can trade in the smartwatch after their 2-year contract is up, and TAG Heuer will transform the Connect into a mechanical watch.
"We are the only brand where you can buy a connected watch and turn it to eternal," Biver.
However, to connect to eternity, consumers will have to hand over an additional $1,500.
TAG Heuer's Connected smartwatch is available today at TAG's New York City boutique for $1,500. The company will launch the Connected in 19 of its retail partners across the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 10, followed by an international launch next month.
