Brace yourselves for more of that smartwatch fever - another company is set to release its own smart timepiece. This time, it's from a firm that has been making watches for more than a century now.
"TAG Heuer will start selling a smartwatch for about $1,400 in October or November as the brand becomes Apple Inc.'s biggest Swiss competitor for connected timepieces," Bloomberg reported. "TAG Heuer formed alliances with Google Inc. and Intel Corp. to develop the watch."
The company's smartwatch will reportedly have battery power that lasts around 40 hours, which is more than twice the 18-hour longevity of Apple Watch's battery.
Jean-Claude Biver, chief of the watchmaking arm of the brand, which has since been owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, recognized the advantage of having consumers interested in the Apple Watch and saw it as something that may push young users to desire TAG Heuer's version as a novel alternative.
"I hope they sell millions and millions and millions of them," Biver was quoted as saying. "The more they sell the more a few people will want something different and come to TAG Heuer."
However, the company's smartwatch will have a decidedly higher price range, starting at $1,400, which is in keeping with the firm's luxe branding.
"Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation with watchmaking credibility," Biver said, as noted by Digital Trends. "Our collaboration provides a rich host of synergies, forming a win-win partnership, and the potential for our three companies is enormous."
No further information on the upcoming device was revealed, although it was also announced that the TAG Heuer smartwatch will be released in October or November of this year.
Prior to the announcement, it was noted that the company would base its first smart timepiece on its Carrera model and include a good number of features currently found in the Apple Watch, such as "a degree of fitness tracking, an altimeter, and GPS."
"Described as a 'digital replica' of the original Carrera, it'll share the same basic style as the classic watch," Digital Trends added. However, the device reportedly won't be sporting the "Swiss Made" label as "the microchip would not be manufactured within Switzerland's borders," Forbes said.
The news source also noted that the upcoming smartwatch would reportedly be upgradeable.
"We want to be able to change the technology but keep the watch elements. If your child completed their Masters degree, you might want to give them a watch. We want to create something that will stay on your watch for a lifetime, that's what TAG Heuer does. And as the technology changes, it will change," explained Alexandra King, TAG Heuer's UK communications manager.
If this indeed is the case, it looks like the European brand may have a considerable edge over its American (soon-to-be) rival.
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