TAG Heuer Launches Luxury Android Wear Smartwatch

Smartwatches are making the leap into luxury.

Yesterday (Nov. 9), the Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer, along with Intel and Google, unveiled the TAG Heuer Connected Watch, which is built with Intel technology and operates on Google’s Android Wear platform.

A press release explains that the digital faces of the three TAG Heuer Connected Watch models available upon launch all bear design similarities to TAG Heuer’s Carrera collection — remaining a “true” watch, in terms of its appearance and counters — while also incorporating third-party applications that are integrated into the watch’s aesthetic and can be opened to full screen with a touch.

The watch — which connects to the cloud via Wi-Fi — comes preloaded with Google applications, such as Google Fit, Google Translate, Google Maps and Google Search. TAG Heuer has built a dedicated online platform (tagheuerconnected.com) to share the latest new features and obtain the partner applications available for the watch. Among the customized optional apps exclusive to TAG Heuer available at launch are the lifestyle app Insiders, GolfShot Pro, motor racing app RaceChrono Pro and trailing app Viewrangers. The app platform will also come equipped with its own software development kit (SDK).

Commented Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel Corporation, at a press conference announcing the release of the TAG Heuer Connected Watch: “Together with TAG Heuer and Google, we created a beautiful, intelligent and functional product that harmonizes the latest computing innovation with more than a century of watchmaking experience, timeless aesthetics and supreme quality.”

The TAG Heuer Connected Watch is currently priced at $1,500, and the press release adds that at the end of its two-year warranty period, it can be exchanged at any TAG Heuer store for a mechanical Swiss-made Carrera watch, designed exclusively for owners of (and in a style similar to) the Connected Watch.

To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.