The new Android Wear smartwatch from luxury watch maker TAG Heuer will reportedly launch this fall, sporting a hefty $1,400 price tag.
It is no longer a big secret that TAG Heuer plans to enter the smartwatch arena and go after the Apple Watch and other competitors. Back in March, the company officially announced a partnership with Google and Intel to develop a high-end smartwatch that would pack an Intel processor and run Google's Android Wear, while also reflecting TAG Heuer's expertise when it comes to finely crafted luxury timepieces. More details have now come to light regarding the company's upcoming smartwatch, including a launch timeframe.
TAG Heuer will reportedly launch its $1,400 Android Wear smartwatch this fall, as the gadget is expected to go on sale by October or November, according to a new report from EWeek.
"A spokesperson for TAG Heuer's parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE of Switzerland, confirmed the expected release time and the device's operating system in an email reply to eWEEK on April 30," the publication reported.
TAG Heuer is renowned for crafting high-end, luxury watches made of premium materials, using precision internals. Top quality usually comes at a price, however, and the company's timepieces are not exactly the most affordable. Its upcoming Android Wear smartwatch won't be either, as the gadget will reportedly cost a hefty $1,400 when it goes on sale later this year.
The company has revealed no other official details regarding its upcoming smartwatch so far, so it remains unclear at this point just what specifications it will have to offer. Last week, however, Bloomberg learned from Jean-Claude Biver, who heads the watchmaking business of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (TAG Heuer's parent company), that the smartwatch will boast a 40-hour battery life. If this turns out to be accurate, the Android Watch smartwatch from TAG Heuer will deliver a battery performance twice as long as that of the Apple Watch, which lasts for up to 18 hours.
Biver further told Bloomberg that TAG Heuer welcomes the competition and does not feel at all threatened by the Apple Watch. The executive said he hopes Apple sells "millions and millions" of smartwatches, suggesting that it could only put TAG Heuer's own smartwatch in a better light.
"The more they sell the more a few people will want something different and come to TAG Heuer," Biver said at the time.
The Apple Watch, meanwhile, starts at $349 for the Apple Watch Sport version, which is the most affordable one, and goes all the way up to a whopping $17,000 for the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition.
