by Luke Johnson 05 December 2014 |
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Will the Tag Heuer smartwatch echo the Withings Activite?
The smartwatch space is about to get a serious new player as high-end watch maker Tag Heuer prepares its first connected wearable for a January unveiling.
With the exclusive brand having previously discussed plans to enter the smartwatch race, it has now been suggested Tag Heuer’s Moto 360 and Samsung Gear S rival will enter the realms of reality next month.
Expected to be powered by Intel, claimed insider sources have told Business Insider that the mooted wearable will debut during CES 2015.
The annual tech convention is due to be held in Las Vegas between January 5 and 9.
For those holding out for a futuristic looking wearable, you might be disappointed. It is expected that the Tag Heuer smartwatch will echo the likes of the Withings Activite in adopting traditional timepiece styling.
Like the Activite, it is believed the Tag offering will pair classic looks with basic ‘smart’ functionality including an inbuilt accelerometer for activity and sleep tracking and Bluetooth 4.0 for smartphone syncing.
Tag Heuer has been vocal in the smartwatch space in recent months.
With the brand’s parent company (LVMH) having suggested a move into the smartwatch space is likely, the company’s head has also slammed the Apple Watch design as being ‘too feminine’.
Discussing the upcoming Apple Watch, Jean-Claude Biver suggested Apple made “some fundamental mistakes” with its first wearable.
“This watch has no sex appeal,” Biver said. “It’s too feminine and looks too much like the smartwatches already on the market.
“To be totally honest, it looks like it was designed by a student in their first trimester.”
Concentrating on the company’s own smartwatch efforts, he added: “We want to launch a smartwatch at Tag Heuer, but it must not copy the Apple Watch. We cannot afford to just follow in somebody else’s footsteps.”
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