The Android and Tag Heuer Twitter accounts are tweeting up a storm about the upcoming Tag Heuer Android Wear watch. The "Tag Heuer Connected" teaser site confirms that luxury watchmaker is diving into the smartwatch market with an Android Wear device. The most interesting thing is the statement at the bottom of the page that reads "Developed in partnership with Google and Intel."
Tag, Intel, and Google have all been talking about the watch since the beginning of the year, but the tweet gives us our first glimpse at the watch's design. The description on the teaser site says, "TAG Heuer is pushing the Swiss avant-garde limits even further with the TAG Heuer Connected. Tradition meets innovation, craftsmanship meets savoir-faire, and bold style meets breakthrough technology. The clock is ticking to the major breakthrough." The site has a countdown for November 9, 2015.
Last month, Tag Heuer's CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, told CNBC that the smartwatch would sell for around $1,800. An earlier report from Wearable.com quoted Tag's UK communications manager as saying the watch would be upgradeable, which would make the $1,800 price tag a little more palatable (though not much).
Traditional watchmakers no doubt feel pressured to respond to the smartwatch market, especially with another luxury brand, Apple, trying to muscle in on their turf. With Android Wear being the only turn-key smartwatch operating system out there, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before we saw the old school watch companies jump in with Google's OS.
Intel's involvement will probably include its "Quark" SoC, which can be specced for the size and power constraints of a wearable device. But Google's personal involvement is interesting—will it come up with some special software additions for Tag? Will the "Connected" be the flagship for a new Marshmallow-powered version of Android Wear? We'll find out on November 9.
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