Earlier this year, Google, Tag Heuer and Intel announced that they would be working together on a smartwatch. It was big news at the time, mostly because of where they chose to announce the news; at Baselworld, the show to end all shows where tradtional watches are concerned. Since then however, there hasn’t been much news about the upcoming product, aside from the fact that we know it’ll be part of the Carrera product line. Now, we might just know what it’ll be called when it launches this Fall, and it isn’t quite as exciting as you’d think.
Wareable was apparently told the following by VEO of Tag Heuer: “There is no other choice for Tag Heuer than to have all its DNA, all its watchmaking emotion and flair into the connected watch. Somehow, one should not see from a certain distance the difference between a Carrera Heuer 01 and a Carrera Wearable 01.” This is an admirable approach, and one that could get more traditional fans onboard, but then there’s the risk that those with attachments to the Carrera branding will shun this newfangled addition to the line.
Either way, this is where things are headed at Tag Heuer, while there are no plans to switch gears entirely to smartwatches, it’s clear that they’ve understood what a certain part of the market is looking for, and to stay relevant they need to start offering that, too. Just what sort of features the watch will carry is unclear, but Tag don’t want this to become irrelevant over time and instead want to make it easy to upgrade key components and keep that watch for years to come.
It seems to us that Tag Heuer is looking to create a modern experience that’s born out of classic thinking and marketing. Offering a watch that is built with longevity in mind goes against the trend of current smartwatches, and will appeal to a lot of users. According to Wareable, the watch will go on sale this November for a whopping $1,400.