Tag: TAG heuer

The wearable technology industry will soon have a new player that has been an expert in both time pieces and computing.

The first smartwatch to be released by TAG Heuer has now had its introduction announced, and it will be occurring in Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2015.

This is considered to be an important entry into the wearable technology industry, considering who is behind it.

The smartwatch is going to be powered by Intel and will receive its debut at one of the most notable annual technology events. In 2015, it will begin on January 5, and this is reported to be the time in which the wearable tech will be unveiled. This should make the market a little bit more interesting, particularly as Apple is expected to release its own Apple Watch for sale early in 2015, as well. That device was already unveiled in September.

The news that TAG Heuer was actually building a smartwatch is not new, as this was announced in September.

That technology news came from the head of watch operations at the company, Jean-Claude Biver. Back when that announcement was made, he assured consumers that this device would in no way be seen as a dupe for an Apple Watch, and that other forms of digital watches would become a type of jumping off point for its design – such as the sailing watch that was made for the Oracle team by TAG.

It also comes as no surprise that Intel will be powering the wearables to be launched by TAG. The chipmaker giant has been quite open about its pursuit of anyone who is looking to step into the wearable technology industry. It has also taken part in powering the Fossil gadgets that are expected to launch in the near future, as well as the MICA bracelet that is designed with snakeskin and gemstones. It has also entered into a partnership for smart specs with Luxottica, the giant fashion organization.

What has yet to be known about the smartwatch from TAG Heuer has primarily to do with the software that will be used on the device, as the products that are currently on the market are typically considered to be greatly lacking in that area.

Shortly after the massive launch of the Apple Watch, this company has revealed that they have wearables of their own.

Though many had scolded Apple for waiting as long as it did to release its own smartwatch, now that it has happened, other companies are now coming out of the woodwork to announce their own upcoming entrances into this increasingly crowded segment of the wearable technology market.

Among the most recent has been TAG Heuer, as an executive has stated that its own product is in the works.

According to Jean-Claude Biver, the head of watchmaking at LVMH, the parent company of TAG Heuer, “We want to launch a smartwatch at TAG Heuer, but it must not copy the Apple Watch.” Biver expressed that the brand would have its own smartwatch, or several of them, to unveil in March at the Baselworld expo, at the very latest. Other than that, he did not provide any real details about what can be expected from the company’s entrance into wearable technology. He stated that “We cannot afford to just follow in somebody else’s footsteps.”

Biver had already made wearable technology by saying that Apple’s smartwatch was “too feminine.”

He also stated that the Apple Watch did not have the prestige and timeless appeal that have been achieved by traditional watches. He said that “This watch has no sex appeal. It’s too feminine and looks too much like the smartwatches already on the market.” Adding to his low opinion of the design of the wearable tech, he said that “To be totally honest, it looks like it was designed by a student in their first trimester.” That said, this is not the first time that a watchmaker company exec has brushed off wearable technology only to sing a different tune shortly afterward. For example, the head of the Tissot brand from Swatch originally brushed off the idea of these wearable devices saying that there has been “a lot of noise” about them but that “you don’t see them on people’s wrists.” But soon afterward the news rang of the company’s investigation into internet connected features, since then there has been a direct announcement from Swatch, stating that they were planning to release its own smartwatch as a version of one of its Touch watches which would feature fitness tracking.