Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Android
    • Android
    • Mobile

    Google’s Android Wear to Power TAG Heuer Smartwatches

    By
    Jaikumar Vijayan
    -
    March 19, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Google

      In a somewhat unusual collaborative effort, Google’s Android Wear operating system will power a new Intel microprocessor-based smartwatch from Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer.

      The three companies announced plans to partner on the watch at a press conference at the Baselworld Watch and Jewelry Show in Switzerland Thursday.

      “The effort signifies a new era of collaboration between Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley,” said Jean-Claude Biver, TAG Heuer CEO, said in a statement. “Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation with watchmaking credibility,” he said.

      Rumors about Intel and TAG Heuer collaborating on a smartwatch have been floating around for the past several months. The two companies in fact were expected to announce a jointly developed smartwatch at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. The device, which will deliver all the functions of current-generation smartwatches, is apparently designed to look more like a traditional wrist watch.

      News about Google’s involvement in the effort is new and suggests that the Swiss smartwatch is a direct response to the newly launched Apple Watch. Apple’s much-anticipated smartwatch, released earlier this month, comes in three models, starting with a $349 Sport model and going all the way up to a high-end $17,000 luxury Watch Edition.

      Some see the Apple Watch as posing a threat to traditional watchmakers at both the low and the ultra-high end of the scale.

      “It’s safe to say that the Google, Intel and TAG Heuer partnership is aiming to both compete with and undermine Apple in the luxury watch segment,” said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. The collaboration represents an effort by the three companies to leverage each other’s considerable strengths in their specific areas of expertise. The approach differs deeply from that of Apple, which is attempting to sell itself as a stand-alone luxury watch brand, King said.

      “An interesting aspect of these efforts is how little they actually concern technology,” King wrote in an email to eWEEK. “Digital watches that are integrated with smartphones aren’t exactly big news, and the Apple Watch breaks little, if any, new ground.” All that Apple has really done is drop “the same digital guts used in its lower-end watches into a gold-ceramic alloy case.”

      For Google, the collaboration with TAG Heuer takes it into territory that it has not played in before. The company’s Android Wear operating system currently powers a range of smartwatches from companies like Motorola, Samsung and Sony. Most of the models retail for less than $300 and can sync with smartphones running Android 4.3 or higher.

      With its Tag Heuer partnership, “Google is looking for a way to address the fact that smartwatches are pieces of jewelry as well as technology,” said Ezra Gottheil, principal analyst with Technology Business Research.

      “Appearance and status are important,” Gottheil said in an email to eWEEK.

      Unlike Apple, which has focused on both form and function, Google and its OEM partners have taken a more function-oriented approach to smartwatches. That could change with the latest partnership, he said. For Google, the TAG Heuer partnership will address both the appearance and status deficit with respect to the Apple Watch.

      “Presumably, Intel was able to make the case that its technology would help deliver a watch that was smaller and thinner,” he said.

      Jaikumar Vijayan
      Vijayan is an award-winning independent journalist and tech content creation specialist covering data security and privacy, business intelligence, big data and data analytics.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×