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Tag Heuer’s plot to overthrow the Apple Watch before it’s even landed are well under way as the luxury brand confirms its own smartwatch project is already four months old.
Jean-Claude Biver, the interim chief exec of Tag Heuer, has revealed it already has several partnerships secured, and is considering acquisitions to boost its fledgling wearable’s potential.
The ritzy watchmaker was rumoured to be planning a dive into the wearable tech space earlier this month, with chatter pointing to Intel for the smartwatch’s processing heft.
Biver said, as reported by Reuters: “We started on the project about four months ago. We have done several partnerships and might also do acquisitions.”
The Tag Heuer team reportedly refused to comment whether Intel was actually involved in the process, but all of rumour-dom is tipping an Intel-sired wearable microprocessor paired with built-in sensors for health-tracking.
Guy Semon, GM at Tag Heuer, explained the reasoning behind the newly announced smartwatch at the firm’s Swiss HQ: “Smartwatches represent a challenge to the Swiss industry that is comparable to the appearance of quartz technology.” We cannot ignore this tusnami that is coming closer.”
He continued: “We’ll only do it if we can be first, different and unique.”
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Tag Heuer has long been vocal about the state of the wearable tech industry, with Biver slamming the Apple Watch as ‘too feminine’ when it launched back in September.
Biver even went as far as describing the device as looking ‘like it was designed by a student,’ and revealed he thought Apple had made ‘some fundamental mistakes.’
“This watch has no sex appeal. [It] looks too much like the smartwatches already on the market,” he added.