News has come in that the Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer will be teaming up with tech giants Intel and Google in a bid to tap into the fledging smartwatch market. Head over the break to read about this development in detail.
The smartwatch market is already pretty crowded as it is, but there is definitely room for much improved devices and for watchmakers to design a wearable that goes beyond than just tackling simple phone based tasks from your wrist. As Apple showed with the introduction of its Apple Watch, watches need to be more than just smart, and as such they need to look good as well; fashion is not to be compromised on.
TAG Heuer seems to understand this, and given the long history of luxury watchmaking that the company enjoys, it is likely that the resultant product of the partnership would take care of that aspect, at least.
This partnership was announced at the Baselworld watch fair today, where TAG Heuer announced that the watch will be powered by Intel based hardware, and will be running the Google powered Android Wear OS. TAG Heuer didn’t reveal exactly when the watch will be available, but suggested that consumers should expect a late 2015 launch.
Jean-Claude Biver, CEO TAG Heuer has said that:
“Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation with watchmaking credibility. Our collaboration provides a rich host of synergies, forming a win-win partnership, and the potential for our three companies is enormous.”
Meanwhile, Intel is also in partnership with Fossil, another famous watchmaker. Intel in partnership with Opening Ceremony has also released a smart bracelet as well, so with all that going on, the partnership with TAG Heuer is just another day in the life of the chipmaker.
No features or design aspects were discussed, but given how Android Wear is in its current form, we expect the wearable to carry premium hardware all around, with Google’s OS running inside.
TAG Heuer has been in business since 1860, and given the market penetration levels that the watchmaker currently enjoys, Google and Intel are all set to ride that wave.
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