“Swatch Group AG said it’s developing an alternative to the iOS and Android operating systems for smartwatches as Switzerland’s largest maker of timepieces vies with Silicon Valley for control of consumers’ wrists,” Corinne Gretler reports for Bloomberg. “The company’s Tissot brand will introduce a model around the end of 2018 that uses the Swiss-made system, which will also be able to connect small objects and wearables. Switzerland’s four-century-old watch industry has been adjusting to new competition since Apple Inc. entered its territory with the Apple Watch in 2015.”
Swatch Chief Executive Officer Nick “Hayek’s strategy contrasts with that of LVMH watch chief Jean-Claude Biver, who earlier this week unveiled an upgraded TAG Heuer smartwatch the brand developed with Google and Intel Corp,” Gretler reports. “Separately, Tissot has yet to start selling its Smart Touch smartwatch, according to Francois Thiebaud, head of that brand. He said last year the solar-powered watch would be available during 2016…”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Three years from now, in the dictionary definition of “too little, too late,” the “Swiss OS” logo will be right next to the photo of Microsoft’s Zune.
Some random, ghettoized wearable OS — incompatible with the apps on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac (or phone, tablet, or PC) — is extremely undesirable.
Swatch is delusional, desperate, or, most likely, both. That’s what being the next Palm will do to you.
SEE ALSO:
Apple Watch has blood on its hands: Pebble is dead – December 7, 2016
Swatch issues dire profit warning, stock plummets to lowest point in over 6 years – July 15, 2016
Thanks to Apple Watch, smartwatches are now more popular than Swiss watches – February 19, 2016
As Apple Watch sales ramp, Swiss watch makers suffer biggest slump in six years – November 19, 2015
Swiss watch makers in deep shit, as Apple Watch designer Jony Ive predicted – October 23, 2015
Swiss watch exports post biggest quarterly export drop since 2009 – October 20, 2015
Apple Watch: Swatch CEO whistles past the graveyard – March 18, 2015
Old school watch makers don’t get Apple Watch – September 12, 2014