“Fans of Tag Heuer timepieces have smartwatch option to consider, provided they have $1,500 budgeted for their new digital timepiece,” Kevin Tofel reports for ZDNet. “The Tag Heuer Connected watch debuted on Monday with a price tag to match the company’s luxury brand name.”
“The Connected runs on the Google Android Wear platform, similar to some watches that cost one-tenth of Tag Heuer’s new product,” Tofel reports. “Aside from the price and brand name, what else is different about the Tag Heuer Connected watch compared to less expensive models from Samsung, Motorola, LG, Huawei and others? Not much.”
MacDailyNews Take: Tag Heuer couldn’t even get the shape of the display right.
“The watchface is clearly Tag Heuer’s, complete with the company logo and design. Aside from that, there’s nothing else to differentiate it from less expensive options,” Tofel reports. “And, although you’d risk a copyright issue, you could create your own version of a Tag Heuer watchface on any other Android Wear watch.”
MacDailyNews Take: As if those who settle for Android, device assemblers and users alike, give a rat’s ass about “copyright issues.” Xiaomi, Huawei, and Samsung will probably each come out with exact replicas by early next week.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As per our headline: Even a non-selling Android Wear stupidwatch with a $1,500 onscreen Tag Heuer logo is right twice a day.
The next time an Android settler pays $1,500 for any electronic device will be the first time.
SEE ALSO:
Watch TAG Heuer announce their answer to Apple Watch – November 9, 2015
TAG Heuer CEO Biver: Luxury Apple Watches will become obsolete – October 12, 2015
I own two $6,000 Swiss watches, but I wear my Apple Watch most of the time – August 14, 2015
Swiss watch exports hit worst slump in five years as Apple Watch debuts – June 19, 2015
As Swiss watchmakers dismiss Apple Watch, Swiss National Bank increases Apple holdings by 60% – May 10, 2015
Apple Watch Edition is poised to disrupt the classic Swiss watch – April 16, 2015
Jean-Claude Biver changes his tune, calls Apple Watch ‘a fantastic product, an incredible achievement’ – January 20, 2015
TAG Heuer plans smartwatch as honcho Jean-Claude Biver changes mind as Apple Watch looms – December 16, 2014
Apple Watch starts countdown on face off with Swiss industry – October 31, 2014
The fashion elite crowd around Apple Watch at Colette in Paris – September 30, 2014
Jean-Claude Biver: ‘The Apple Watch cannot compete at all with European watches’ – September 15, 2014
Jean-Claude Biver: Apple Watch ‘too feminine; looks like it was designed by a student in their first trimester’ – September 16, 2014
Barclays: Apple Watch could crush companies like Fossil – September 16, 2014
Jean-Claude Biver: ‘The Apple Watch cannot compete at all with European watches’ – September 15, 2014
Old school watch makers don’t get Apple Watch – September 12, 2014
Apple Watch, the world’s first real smartwatch, will be a massive hit – September 9, 2014
Apple iWatch designer Jony Ive: Switzerland is in deep shit – September 4, 2014
That watch is huge and thick.
If TAG Heuer thinks “Android Wear users are stupid,” that’s at least ONE thing TAG Heuer would be correct about… 🙂
Talk about being clueless about your targeted cheapskate market segment (with the same problem Google has of marketing to the wrong less-heeled consumer). DOA PO$.
It’s actually the most attractive “smartwatch” I’ve seen yet. It has a Tag Heuer look to it as it impersonates a real watch.
The best feature is that you can swap it toward a real watch after 2 years.
The worst feature is Android underneath, but what choice did they have for an OS? Not like they can license WatchOS.
The Android people are bitching about the price already. Android users are notoriously cheap. They prefer everything for free, and act like you’ve committed an atrocity against human kind if you charge for something. These are not the people who are going to spend $1500 for a smartwatch.
They want something in the $50 price range so they can talk about how they got something as good as the Apple Watch for a lot less money.
Yes, the REAL question is, can it interact (in even a limited way) with iPhone? If it does not, TAG Heuer is being doubly deluded that this $1500 watch will find non-imaginary customers.
Microsoft is actually being sensible. Microsoft’s “Band” is affordable (less than Apple Watch Sport), and it works (in limited ways) with both iPhone (all the way back to 4S) and various Android phones (plus obviously Windows Phone).
The press release has been quite clear that it supports iOS 8 and up. It’s one of the more recent features of Android Gear that it works with iPhone.
I’m really tired of MDN’s ranting about the round style watches. Some time back on another watch thread here I had commented that to me a round face with a rotating bezel for control made a lot of sense. Of course I got trashed out as a moron by the open minded lot that reside here.
Anyway, I just recently saw a Samsung commercial showing their models with a rotating bezel. Looking up the Gear S2 Classic model I find something that looks much nicer than the Apple Watch in my mind, and one I would rather wear.
I just looked at a couple of short YouTube videos on them and the functionality looks great. They run on Tizen and apparently don’t have a lot of apps, so that’s a major downside. But the concept looks logical to me, unlike muleheaded MDN.
But no matter what, I’d still never buy a Samsung product, and at this point no other smart watch. Having nine conventional watches (only one square) I guess I will just be content to use my iPhone the old fashioned way.
Gotta agree with you wholeheartedly.
The consistent MDN felatio is getting tiresome – until Apple releases a round WATCH, in which case it’ll be fun to re-visit those comments.
Too bad MDN refuses to have an associated forum – though probably for good reason, to avoid getting constantly bashed.
MacDailyNews Take, 27 September 2015:
As if the very first question Apple asked themselves in designing the Apple Watch wasn’t “should it be round or square?” No, Apple just chose square without any consideration at all in a reckless act of industrial design neglect. Because this is how Apple works, they never carefully consider anything during the design of their products. Jony Ive just assigns new category products to the newest intern and that’s how it all gets done at Apple Inc.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” — Steve Jobs
The majority of consumers today think they want a round-faced smartwatch because the majority of wristwatches through history have been round since basically all they have done/continue to do is to tell time and, ta-da, most clocks are round. Obviously, Apple Watch is much more that just a clock. Consumers thought they needed a beard of plastic keys on their phones and floppy drives in their computers, too. Because that’s all they knew. And then, somehow, they learned to Think Different™.
Just because “this is the way it’s always been done,” doesn’t make continuing to do so valid.
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford
And, of course, Apple is renowned for bowing to consumer pressure to rush ill-considered designs to market. Happens all the time. That’s why Apple had large screen iPhones on the market so early instead of at least two years late (they didn’t release larger phones until they could do them right). And why they released that Apple netbook. And why they make $49 feature phones for third world countries in an empty quest for market share, too.
“Android watch makers [still have to] figure out they need to make square displays (lists are square, not round, and lists dominate smartwatch uses)…” — MacDailyNews, August 14, 2015
“Round is wrong.” — MacDailyNews, September 9, 2015
Furthermore, if Apple ever
doesrelease a round Apple Watch, it will be because they thought of something new that required it to be round, not because of consumers’ ingrained behaviors, misperceptions, or pressure.A round watch makes some sense, if it has a “radial” interface. Old iPods have a scroll, touch, or click “wheel,” and that’s an interface based on a circle. But it would take Apple to invent an effective touchscreen interface based on circular gestures.
This is what someone in the Swiss watch industry should do… Make a smartwatch with an analog interface. It has three physical “hands” and looks like a traditional analog watch, but the hands are controlled by independent motors, not underlying gears, so they move instantly and independently to any position. In additional to showing local time, the three hands move on command to show time in any city, or the time of your next calendar appointment. The watch face under the hands is a screen that shows basic text info, such as date and phone number of incoming call, AND it changes to work with hands based on selected functions. It has a microphone and speaker for voice-based interaction.
For example, in compass mode, the watch face shows N-E-S-W and the hands point like a compass needle plus in current direction of travel. In exercise mode, the hands independently point to relevant info in analog “speedometer” form, such as distance traveled, heart-rate, duration, running pace, calories, etc. (user sets it up based on exercise type). Analog presentation is often easier to see at a glance or when the wrist is unsteady (compared to reading digital characters).
In this way, a courageous Swiss watchmaker can play to its strengths to create the anti- Apple Watch, instead of the desperate “me too” fake Apple Watch that no one wants.
well said, and nice ideas! I would absolutely by a round Apple Watch- especially for more dressed up events.
NOTE: Apple designed watchOS and its interface for a square watch display. Apple is NOT doing a round watch, unless the current interface design is radically changed, which is unlikely. My point is that if Apple’s watch competitors are using round displays, the watch needs to have an interface that makes sense for (and even takes advantage of) a round display. Making it round just to be different AND copying the square Apple Watch does NOT make sense.
I have to say the option to pay $1500 to downgrade my watch into a dumb watch after 2 years is hardly a selling point to me. Although in this case downgrade is probably an arguable term.
I do have to wonder how Motorola feel about the Tag buffoon claiming this is the first to look like a watch.
I also found it amusing that when the same Tag buffoon boasted to the Intel (very embarrassed) suit that it was the smallest computer in the world demanding confirmation, he very pointedly avoided claiming any such thing, though said buffoon wasn’t going to let the electronics guy spoil his childlike glee in continuing to claim it before bringing on the cheese and cow bells.
“Even a non-selling Android Wear stupidwatch with a $1,500 onscreen Tag Heuer logo is right twice a day.”
Actually, no. Only a stopped mechanical watch is right twice a day. And all smartwatches have no display if they are off.
And, there is nothing wrong with round.
No, round is wrong for smartwatches. Here’s why:
Some TAG Heuer watches have been rectangular and were touted as the future.
someone said “Switzerland is fscked”. someone is right.
(Was it Jony Ive?)
So Hermes and Apple must think the same?
It’s not Tag Heuer’s fault. They are use to customers paying a LOT of money for something that just tells time. With all the additional features in this Tag Heuer watch, they probably think this is a steal!
Many people here are making the assumption that the customers see themselves as buying an Android watch for $1,500. I think that you’ll find that these customers see themselves as buying a TAG Heur watch for $1,500 and don’t know what you mean by ‘Android’.
I’m not saying that it’s going to be a massive success, but I certainly wouldn’t write it off at this stage either. A key aspect of running a business is differentiating your product from that of your rivals and I think it’s pretty obvious that TAG Heur have achieved this, making it significantly different to other Android watches while quite unlike Apple watches. They are not going head to head with Apple, but are aiming for a unique sector of the market.
It’s entirely possible that this could work out well for TAG Heur, even though it will never be a threat to Apple Watch. Many of us remember that for many years Apple made a comfortable living by selling relatively small numbers of Macs, TAG Heur could do perfectly well by selling a relatively modest number of these watches.
Nobody could think of it as a clone of Apple Watch, it’s a distinctly different product which is targeted at a different sector of the market. It’s going to be much easier to sell one of these to a traditional quality watch user, but once they have tried a smart watch, they might be tempted to look sideways and see what an Apple Watch could do for them.
My judgement is that this watch will either have a neutral effect on Apple Watch, or a slightly beneficial one, but either way it won’t affect Apple Watch one way or the other.
Sorry about spelling TAG Heuer wrong throughout that – I let auto-correct learn the wrong spelling and then it kept ‘correcting’ it !!
Well said!!
The Android market by definition is for people who have little disposable income, and would give as little as possible out for technology. To put Android into a Swiss watch is a joke, it’s like putting a BMW body onto Suzuki chassis and motor.
I can’t still understand how those people mix the word “luxurious” with “android”
It is like trying to mix water and oil.
How can you make a “luxurious” device or wear with something that it is an imitation?
Have you hear a rolls Royce with imitation leather?
MDN: “Round is wrong” – as usual this particular MDN editor is too busy giving Apple his usual felatio. Watch faces come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and the most traditional watch face is ROUND.
If anything TAG should be applaud for getting round, right – unlike other round smartwatches that couldn’t engineer a truly round display.
It’s almost worth screenshotting this MDN felatio, for the day Apple Watch is released in a round form factor, at which point this same idiot will be praising “how utterly awesome Apple is for doing a round watch face”.
Maybe he’ll outgrow this once he hits puberty.
MacDailyNews Take, 27 September 2015:
As if the very first question Apple asked themselves in designing the Apple Watch wasn’t “should it be round or square?” No, Apple just chose square without any consideration at all in a reckless act of industrial design neglect. Because this is how Apple works, they never carefully consider anything during the design of their products. Jony Ive just assigns new category products to the newest intern and that’s how it all gets done at Apple Inc.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” — Steve Jobs
The majority of consumers today think they want a round-faced smartwatch because the majority of wristwatches through history have been round since basically all they have done/continue to do is to tell time and, ta-da, most clocks are round. Obviously, Apple Watch is much more that just a clock. Consumers thought they needed a beard of plastic keys on their phones and floppy drives in their computers, too. Because that’s all they knew. And then, somehow, they learned to Think Different™.
Just because “this is the way it’s always been done,” doesn’t make continuing to do so valid.
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford
And, of course, Apple is renowned for bowing to consumer pressure to rush ill-considered designs to market. Happens all the time. That’s why Apple had large screen iPhones on the market so early instead of at least two years late (they didn’t release larger phones until they could do them right). And why they released that Apple netbook. And why they make $49 feature phones for third world countries in an empty quest for market share, too.
“Android watch makers [still have to] figure out they need to make square displays (lists are square, not round, and lists dominate smartwatch uses)…” — MacDailyNews, August 14, 2015
“Round is wrong.” — MacDailyNews, September 9, 2015
Furthermore, if Apple ever
doesrelease a round Apple Watch, it will be because they thought of something new that required it to be round, not because of consumers’ ingrained behaviors, misperceptions, or pressure.Apple chose a square watch face, simply because it was technically easier and less expensive to engineer and develop – a compromise that they present as a feature, which they have arguably done with every single version 1.0 product of theirs.
I have no doubt that, come version 2.0 or version 3.0, WATCH will feature a round watch face – everything in the current ’round’ UI trends towards that inevitability.
It’ll be fun to see the fanboys like MDN backpedal.
You seem to like the word ‘felatio’ a lot. You must be a cunning linguist.
😉
Glad you picked up on it 🙂
TAG is trading a tightly controlled, fully integrated business model for one where they are completely at the mercy of third parties.
Oh my.
I don’t think it’s that simple. If TAG Heuer do nothing, they risk their business being adversely affected by a third party ( Apple Watch ). By making an unmistakably TAG Heuer smart watch, they will be doing something credible to offset the threat from Apple Watch. Obviously the operating system is beyond their control, but nobody would be buying these watches for the operating system, they will be buying a TAG Heuer timepiece that happens to be digital.
Of all the options open to traditional watch manufacturers, I think that this is a strategy that could work out OK for them.
These watches won’t appeal to people who buy Apple Watches, but they might be sufficiently attractive to a TAG Heuer customer to keep them on board when they might otherwise have been tempted by an Apple Watch.
It’s a niche market, but it’s possible to run a good business by catering to the right niche, especially if your traditional market could be destabilised by external factors.
Elastic hands are missing from the iWatch: The hands would stretch toward the corners and recede at the sides. This solve the round peg into the square hole conundrum. Simple.