TAG Heuer, Google and Intel have announced a partnership to launch a Swiss smartwatch using Intel technology and Android Wear.
The collaboration was made official at Baselworld, during a press conference held on Thursday 19th March at the TAG Heuer booth featuring Jean-Claude Biver, President of the Watch Division LVMH Group and CEO of TAG Heuer, David Singleton, Director of Engineering for Android Wear, and Michael Bell, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s New Devices Group.
“Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation with watchmaking credibility. Our collaboration provides a rich host of synergies, forming a win-win partnership, and the potential for our three companies is enormous,” said Jean-Claude Biver.
Guy Sémon, General Manager of TAG Heuer added: “The quality of Swiss watches is renowned worldwide. When this is allied with the creative technology and global power of two companies like Intel and Google, using the Android Wear platform and based on Intel technology, we can see the launch of a technological revolution in our industry, of which I am proud to be a pioneer today with TAG Heuer.”
David Singleton noted, “By fusing beauty with technology, the Swiss watch has inspired generations of artists and engineers alike — including us at Google. So we’re thrilled to be working with TAG Heuer and Intel to bring a unique blend of emotion and innovation to the luxury market. Together, and using the Android Wear platform, we can imagine a better, beautiful, smarter watch.”
“As we work to enable technology experiences that provide greater utility and value to people, Intel is confident that a collective approach will inspire new innovation in wearable technology. The collaboration with TAG Heuer and Google brings us closer to realizing the vision of wearable technology with a distinctive smartwatch that elevates the category,” remarked Michael Bell.
Source: Intel Corporation
MacDailyNews Take: The fear is palpable.
“Android” is the perfect brand to tarnish TAG Heuer and Swiss watchmaking. With Apple Watch, Apple has deftly pushed these disparate entities into a desperate partnership that will end up doing Apple’s marketing job for them.
Android is second rate. Android is inferior. Android is for those who can’t afford or are unable to recognize the real thing. Android is a BlackBerry clone that was hastily rejiggered to mimic iPhone. Android is a security nightmare. Android is fragmented. Android is too many cooks in the kitchen.
Imagine Apple reinvents the car. This is like BMW teaming up with Microsoft and AMD to come up with their response. It immediately tarnishes the BMW brand while bringing too many mediocre cooks into the kitchen to concoct a weak knockoff.
Hasty, panicked partnerships like this and the insipid crap-by-committee junk that they’ll end up turning out will only serve to erode brands like “Swiss smartwatch” and TAG Heuer while further elevating the Apple and Apple Watch brands.
Watch and see.
cluster-frag.
Android Wear = Complete dud
Intel Mobile = can’t even make a phone cpu solution anyone wants much less a wrist-worn device solution.
Now they’re going to start ‘brainstorming’ a solution with a 150 year old Swiss watch company while Apple’s solution comes out next month?
What could go wrong?
Reminds me when MS and Nokia joined forces to fight the Apple and Android onslaught.
I guess this is what “disruption” looks like.
So Tag Heuer is slumming it.
“Befuddled” is the perfect word, MDN.
Remember TAG, the digital crown is patented. 😉
Amazing. Not sure other than Branding Tag H brings to the table. “Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation with watchmaking credibility.” Oh yes, credibility. For what? There I assume no spinning physical hands on the thing and if they miss the point of AppleWatch by thinking timekeeping is the most challenging part of the product they will suffer a huge lesson at great cost.
Exactly. It’s a recipe for disaster. TAG Heuer will presumably be making the case and bracelet. They’ll want to be compensated very handsomely for what amounts to a simple manufacturing job (Apple’s stainless steel cases and bracelets are already on par with what Switzerland is making. That’s not coming from me, that’s coming from *the* voice in wristwatches, Hodinkee).
So you’ll be paying TAG Heuer prices, to get Apple-grade hardware with Android software.
They’ll certainly sell a few, but it doesn’t add up in the long term.
And it remains to be seen if Intel can come close to matching Apple’s S Series SOCs for compute power/watt.
Quickest way for Swiss luxury brand destruction. What idiots!!
crap fest. of course now that everyone sees that Apple is going to make a killing on these, they want there shit version.
without the swiss movement, TAG is becoming an Android case and band maker, catering to people who can’t afford or ar too internally thwarted to get an iPhone. Fail.
TAG pretty much makes overpriced Timexes anyway. Their cases and bracelets look molded rather than machined, and they buy movements in bulk from ETA. Google is a perfect partner for them.
Yes, because every young person knows TAG Heuer brand. Not. I think these traditional watch makes will not succeed with smart watches simply because they’ve always catered to a niche, and they will remain a niche. Google brand might work. But most people don’t give a shit about TAG Heuer. What’s that?
“…we can see the launch of a technological revolution in our industry…”
Sorry, Apple’s revolution is fully armed and taking the leadership position in the future of smart watches.
“The quality of Swiss watches is renowned worldwide”. And that quality (of internal mechanisms) is completely meaningless in the smartwatch arena.
Well the Carrera brand starts at $3500 and without the traditional movement, what’s the point?
@MDN YOU GOT OWNED…AGAIN
Win an iPhone redirect with no escape…meh
MDN take is spot on. TAG Heuer makes excellent wrist bling that keep accurate time. They should stick to what they do well and not try to enter the smart watch category on the cheap.
Even if Tag Heuer produces a SmartWatch, it also needs to produce an ecosystem comparable to Apple’s. Using Android to produce a quality ecosystem for a Tag Heuer is failed proposition. Android is synonymous with fragmentation, malware, and 2nd rate apps. How is using Android going to project an image of excellence for Tag Heuer? 😀
One wonders what technology that Intel will be bringing to the party? A head worn windmill perhaps to constantly feed the hot thirsty chips that will fill half the watch perhaps if they have anything to do with it. TAG of course could produced a watch twice the size I suppose so that all 3 of these also-rans can market it as twice as good.
Makes sense they would bring TAG Heuer on board.
After all, SOMEONE has to figure out how to make a blue screen look stylish.
I wonder where the brand identifiers for android and Intel will be affixed to the watch.
Every time you take it off the charger you will be subjected to 3 minutes of ads, brought to you by google, followed by the Intel chime every time.
Tag shouldn’t embarrass themselves entering the gadget market, particularly with Google.
I felt motivated to write to TAG to point out their mistake. Guess what, there is NO WAY on their web site to send them a message, not even one of those hated HTTP MailTo forms. A clear sign that the company doesn’t give a damn about its customers.
You could try writing on their FB page or twitter/Pinterest them.
A company that doesn’t understand electronics, a company that doesn’t understand ethics, and a company that doesn’t understand cool, walk into a bar… There’s got to be a joke (or three) there.
They create Android OS. 😀
GOoogle-TagHeuer-Intel = GOTHI, cool, the goth crowd will love it.
A Tag Heuer watch wearer doesn’t carry an Android phone to begin with so this better be a non-tethered solution.
What do you bet all this “creative invention” blah blah blah ends up looking just about like….. the Apple Watch!
Ta da: look what we can clone—I mean create!
My carrera just lost 30% of it’s value