In 2015, TAG Heuer surfaced what was believed the first high-end smartwatch, the TAG Heuer Connected.
Just months after its release, in January 2016, I sat down with Guy Semon, now chief of the research institute for the watch division of LVMH, who advised me that the brand’s foray into smartwatches was crucial:”In the upcoming few years, [wearables] will be one of the greatest pillars within our sector,” he predicted. “We have to go there.”
Four decades after, analog watches are still TAG Heuer’s bread and butter, and there’s been resurgence in demand for antique luxury watches. But Semon was right; luxury smartwatches from brands such as Apple and Louis Vuitton are currently a significant pillar of the watch industry. And also the Connected has, as Semon asserted then, gotten”better and better” over time.
Today the company officially debuted the next generation of its signature smartwatch, and while its appearance and construct was inspired by the atelier’s classic chronograph, its insides are decidedly sci-fi.
The third Connected Watch, which runs on Wear OS from Google, is an all-around, Apple Watch–fashion smartwatch, but was constructed specifically to monitor and aid sports performance. It is poised to compete with high-end offerings from sports smartwatch titan Garmin.
The brand new timepiece possesses advanced detectors such as GPS and heart-rate monitoring–all of that inform a brand new TAG Heuer watches Sports app, which offers detailed tracking for golf, running, cycling, walking, gym center, and other sessions. The on-wrist experience is complemented by a newly constructed TAG Heuer mobile companion program that the company says allows for more personalization and deeper fitness insights compared to its predecessors. Right out of the box, the watch gives users access to Google Assistant and Google Translate (both use the microphone located on the left side of this case), e-mail and message alerts, Google Pay, music controls, a schedule, weather, and maps.
It seems great, also. The dial comes with a flush-set OLED touch display topped with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. And the watch is fitted with a magnetic battery charger along with a”bespoke travel pouch.” Even the timepiece’s interchangeable bracelet system lets you switch out bracelets with a single clip motion, and also the brand offers an array of straps for the Linked.
Wearers can select between five star mechanical- or digital-inspired TAG Heuer watch faces, or go fully custom. Dials include a three-hand variant of this Heuer 02 manufacture movement skeletonized dial, a digitalized Carrera Heuer 01, a liquid crystal-like display, or a algorithm-based neural network animation named Orbital.
TAG Heuer’s chief strategy and electronic officer, Frédéric Arnault, that has directed the watch’s development, said in a company statement,”The TAG Heuer Connected watch was designed and engineered with the same passion and attention to detail as our mechanical watches. The Connected watch is not only a beautiful timepiece, it is a really immersive experience, because it now sits inside a complete TAG Heuer digital ecosystem aimed towards performance and sports.”
J.R. Dunn Jewelers in Lighthouse Point, Fla., is the only independent merchant launching the brand new Connected Watch. Company vice president Sean Dunn informs JCK,”We anticipate the 3rd generation of Tag Heuer Connected, using its authentic smartwatch capabilities and attractive price point, will be met with even more fervor than the prior versions of the watch which were incredibly successful for us online and in store.” The smartwatch will debut on the retailer’s site at midnight tonight.
