TAG_Heuer
Executives celebrate a partnership between Google, Intel and Tag Heuer. Left to right: Guy Sémon, General Manager of TAG Heuer; Jean-Claude Biver, President of the Watch Division LVMH Group and CEO of TAG Heuer, Michael Bell, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s New Devices Group and David Singleton, Director of Engineering for Android Wear. (Photo: Intel)

 

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has decided to get into the smartwatch market. The Swiss watchmaker announced today that it has partnered with Google and Intel to create a device that’s supposed to marry the traditional design of its watches with Google’s Android Wear platform.

Tag Heuer's (mechanical) Carrera watch
Tag Heuer’s mechanical Carrera watch

According to a press release from Intel, the device is supposed to ship at the end of this year, though other details about its capabilities are scarce. It’s not yet clear whether Tag Heuer will be shipping a watch with a screen like the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Gear, or if it will just be adding some digital capabilities to an otherwise mechanical timepiece.

People hoping for a budget smartwatch shouldn’t hold their breath for this model. Tag Heuer’s watches cost thousands of dollars, which means that this device will likely be more expensive than most of the competing devices built by tech companies – with the possible exception of Apple’s $10,000 gold smartwatch.

Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver told Reuters that he wasn’t concerned about the impending launch of the Apple Watch disrupting his company’s upcoming timepiece or the watch industry at large. Instead, he’s hopeful that Apple’s smartwatch will lead to more customers in the long run.

“Apple will get young people used to wearing a watch and later maybe they will want to buy themselves a real watch,” Biver said.

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