TAG Heuer unveils $1500 'Connected' luxury smartwatch running Android Wear

Swiss watch manufacturer TAG Heuer has launched its first smartwatch called the Connected , a luxury Android Wear smartwatch. The wearable’s design is inspired by the TAG Heuer Carrera watch and uses premium materials, including titanium lugs and a scratch resistant sapphire crystal screen.

TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said his company has been building mechanical watches for 155 years but knew little about building an Internet-connected device that younger buyers would want. So it partnered with Intel and Google in what he calls the "marriage of Watch Valley and Silicon Valley."

The TAG Heuer Connected has a round dial and features custom watch faces. It has a 1.5-inch fully circular transflective LTPS LCD display with a layer of scratch-resistant Sapphire crystal. It is equipped with 1.6Ghz dual-core Intel processor aide by 1GB RAM. On-board storage is 4GB and fueling the device is a 410mAh battery. For wireless connectivity there is Bluetooth and WiFi. Other features include gyroscope, tilt detection sensor, a microphone, a haptic engine, directional wind and weather monitoring, and IP67 water and dust resistance.

The smartwatch can be personalized with six different rubber straps. It also has a set of digital watch faces with classic TAG Heuer dials. Users can personalize the information they want to see on the watch including weather, step count, or calories. They can also check messages, get fitness update and other information.

"The TAG Heuer Connected includes a beautiful set of digital watch faces with classic TAG Heuer dials," said David Singleton, VP of Engineering, Android Wear, in a blog post. "You’ll be able to personalize what information you want to see: weather, step count, or calories."

It sports a premium titanium alloy body and, sandblasted, carbide-coated titanium bezel with anti-fingerprint coating. It has a titanium single push-button with black, carbide-coated line fine-brushed and raised with TAG Heuer shield. The smartwatch is 46mm wide and 12.8mm thick, and is compatible with devices running Android 4.3 or higher, and iOS 8.2+. 

The TAG Heuer Connected is priced at $1500 (Rs. 1 lakhs) and is available to buy in the U.S via company website- tagheuerconnected. It will go on sale in Japan next week, followed by countries in Europe and Asia by the end of November. It comes in a standard black rubber strap, but will also be available in six colors including blue, red, green, orange, white and yellow, which are sold separately. 

The smartwatch comes with a two-year warranty and as per TAG Heuer, after two years, users will be able to pay an extra $1,500 and trade-in their Connected smartwatch for the mechanical Carerra watch, which is priced at $3,000.