SUBSCRIBE

Tag

TAG Heuer

Tag Heuer Carrera Smart Watch smartwatch
Watches

TAG Heuer Announces Date For Smartwatch And A Price Increase

October 2, 2015

Tag Heuer Carrera Smart Watch smartwatch

Tag Heuer’s CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, took to CNBC this week to provide an update on the company’s smartwatch effort. After previously dismissing and bashing the wearable devices, Tag Heuer announced late last year that it would develop it’s own connected watch and that it would be different from anything on the market. During his discussion with CNBC, Biver announced that the device would finally be unveiled November 9th in NYC. Based on the Carrera watch design, it was previously communicated that the smartwatch would list for $1,400. Rarely do we see a company announce a nearly 30% price increase a month before the product’s launch, but that is just what Tag Heuer did. The company’s wearable will now start at $1,800, a $400 increase. Biver says he is comfortable with the pricing because since it is only a few hundred more than the [highest-end] Apple Watch Hermés.  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Watches

TAG Heuer to Launch Smartwatch By November

April 30, 2015

TAG Heuer Smartwatch November

TAG Heuer has made no secret of it’s smartwatch ambitions. Earlier this year the LVMH owned company announced it was working with Google and Intel to develop the wrist piece. This week TAG Heuer announced that it was planning to launch the device in either October or November with pricing expected to start at $1,400. This is $100 less than the Carrera model the smartwatch is said to based off of. Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH’s luxury watch devision, said that users should expect 40 hours of battery life. This is well ahead of all current Android Wear devices so it will be interesting to see how TAG Heuer plans to accomplish this.

With a $1,400 price tag, the Apple Watch is the closest smartwatch competitor by price. Biver said of the rival device, “I hope they sell millions and millions and millions of them. The more they sell the more a few people will want something different and come to TAG Heuer.”

It will be interesting to see what a Swiss company, with such a vocal history about smartwatches, envisions the device should be.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Watches

TAG Heuer Announces Partnership With Google And Intel

March 19, 2015

TAG Heuer CarreraTAG Heuer has been very vocal about smartwatches over the past 12 months. In January the watch maker announced it would release a device later this year. It seems the Swiss watch maker is ready to divulge a few more details. Today, at the Baselword watch convention, TAG Heuer announced it has partnered with Intel and Google to produce the smartwatch. Intel will be providing the silicon and Google will provide the software, Android Wear.

According to Jean-Claude Biver, the company’s interim CEO and head of watches for TAG Heuer’s parent company, LVMH, TAG Heuer decided not to produce a watch that was compatible with iOS devices because Apple was producing their own watch. Those of us here at Circuits And Cable Knit are not terribly surprised by this news and speculated earlier this week that the Swiss company had very little choice besides turning to Android Wear. TAG Heuer’s smartwatch is rumored to be based off of the Carrera model (pictured at the top of this post), the mechanical version of which sells for several thousand dollars, depending on configuration. 

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Switzerland's Future
Watches

Switzerland’s Road To A Smart Watch

March 18, 2015

Swiss vs Smartwatches

Despite the smartwatch’s moderate success in the marketplace up until now, it is undeniable that the watch industry is changing. Smartwatch manufactures are trying to figure out if they are selling gadgets or jewelry and traditional watch makers are trying to decide if they are in the business of tradition or technology. Depending on the success of the launch of the premium-priced Apple Watch next month, that will likely dictate the direction other companies follow. If smartwatches do prove viable, Switzerland, a country synonymous with traditional, mechanical watch making, has a particularly turbulent road in front of them.

TAG Heuer is a great example of what is likely occurring behind the scenes at most Swiss watch producers. The company has had a rough past year between conflicting corporate communications, major personnel shifts, and executives who were bit too vocal. All of these combine to create a public display of how TAG Heuer is fighting to develop a strategy which embraces the future while continuing to appeal to their target audience.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
TAG Heuer Smartwatch
Watches

TAG Heuer Announces Plans For Smartwatch

December 17, 2014

TAG Heuer SmartwatchSeems that luxury watch maker TAG Heuer has had a change of heart. Back in September, when Apple unveiled their Apple Watch, TAG Heuer’s interim CEO (and head of LVMH’s watch division), Jean-Claude Biver, was one of the first detractors of the device. Biver was not a fan of Apple’s design but, more importantly, not a fan of smartwatches. At the time Biver said that smartwatches will soon be outdated while “luxury always has something timeless.” What a difference a few months make. Biver has now changed his mind and sees value in TAG Heuer developing a smartwatch. Likely the company is starting to sense consumer demand for the devices and does not want to risk being left behind if the product category finds success. The watch industry already took a huge hit from smartphones and smartwatches could be the final nail in the coffin for a company not able to adapt. Biver says TAG Heuer started exploring the concept 4 months ago and has already formed partnerships with Intel and Google. They do not want to release anything unless it feels “first, different, and unique.” The device is expected to utilize traditional watch mechanics in addition to a bevy of sensors. TAG Heuer’s smartwatch is unlikely to launch before late 2015.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment