When it is time to look for a well-made timepiece, the best place to start is at the annual watch trade show in Basel, Switzerland, aptly named, Baselworld, where Swiss luxury watchmaker, Gc announced their first smartwatch running Android Wear 2.0. The new device is called the Gc Connect and is based on their company’s analog models called Gc Structura. They have a round design, and all models will sport a 318L stainless steel case with options of brushed and polished steel, rose gold, or bronze. Each will have a “mineral glass” cover with a touchscreen display and are powered by the new Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor with no mention yet of how much RAM or internal storage will be included.
Gc Connect will offer up a men’s and women’s version, with the men’s model having a black ceramic ring around the display. The men’s style watch will have options of a rose gold or polished steel base with either a black silicone strap or crocodile leather strap as well as a bronze or steel case with a gray embossed silicone strap. On the women’s side, you will have your choice of rose gold or steel with a white silicone strap or rose gold with a polished bracelet. Android Wear 2.0 allows for many customized faces and Gc will offer up their own designs and will work with either an iOS or Android smartphone. No Pricing or release date have been given.
More luxury Swiss watchmakers are crossing lines into the smartwatch field – TAG Heuer Connected was the first Swiss Android Wear watch that arrived on the scenes in late 2015 with the newest model, the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 recently unveiled. The original model will get its upgrade to Android Wear 2.0 this month and the new model, like the Gc Connect, will come with Android Wear 2.0 out of the box. The new version of Android Wear is quite a substantial upgrade and will offer many new features making the conversion to a smartwatch much easier to deal with as well as more useful. There is a section in the Google Store with Android Wear 2.0 specific apps that you can download directly to the watch. If your smartwatch has NFC capabilities, you can now make and authorize Android Pay purchases right from your smartwatch with no help from your smartphone. There is a much better organized and customizable notification area, and you will even be able to pull up a complete keyboard to answer a text message or reply to an email. These great new features coupled with the new Gc Connect should make for an excellent experience.