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TAG Heuer Announces Smartwatch Plans as Threat From Apple Watch Looms
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Tag Heuer is not a high end watch maker. A major part of their portfolio is digital, not automatic and most of their sales are in their lower segment (below 1000 euros). They have been struggling for a while because their more expensive watches are competed away by Omega.
It is unsurprising that they launch a smart watch, but don't expect one from Breitling, Omega, Rolex or anything above that.
We'll see.
I doubt there is much customer (market) overlap to begin with. I would never buy an expensive watch myself, which sole purpose were to display the time of the day.
I think you are generalizing too much. there are a lot of people with a lot of money in the world. Many of them have teenage and young adult children who are going to want a gold apple watch. Obviously it's not going to be millions of people buying a multi thousand dollar smartwatch but there will be a lot. That doesn't make them dumb but it does show that they consider their money to be much more disposable than the average person does (because it is).
I agree.
I also think there's scope for a wide range of smart watches. Apple are going for a full-on wrist-mounted computer, but maybe Tag would look at much more discrete, semi-smart dress watches. Traditional appearance with simple notification display, for example.
OK. TAG Heuer, a swiss mechanical watchmaker, started their smart watch project 4 months ago. Apple, arguably the most powerful consumer technology company in the world, has been working on their smart watch for at least 5 years now. Yeah, good luck with that.
Neither would I but I disagree about what its sole purpose is. It is jewelry first and foremost. It is a meticulously hand crafted piece of jewelry that tells time.
And you know this how? I don't think Tag Heuer ever said. What smarts would this "real watch" have that would make it a smartwatch if it isn't running some sort of OS? Unless Tag isn't really planning a smart watch in which case this story is a non-story.
Tim Cook said in an Interview that it was entirely a post Jobs era product that Steve never even knew about because it wasn't something they had any plans of before his death. That means at most it's been in development about 3 years. Still a major head start especially considering it was 3 years from one of if not the biggest technology giants in the world.
This would fall more in the designer watch market than in the Swiss watch market.
However, even some traditional Swiss watch customers may require a certain level of functionality daily, namely some health tracking and being able to summon their car. You cannot expect them to wear the same watch every day, so switching should be seamless and standardized. For important occasions, mechanical-only, forgo any smarts.
Exactly. Different product types, different market structures and different customer segmentation. People who bring up that analogy oversimplify what is really going on.
Likely it will be Android Wear.
This is a good thing. TAG Heuer's entry means that Apple was likely right that there will be a market for high-end smart watches. The watchmakers should introduce some good designs, which should improve the design of future Apple Watches.
You're right. I don't know much about watches and assumed the best designer watches are from Switzerland but they could be from anywhere.
A Google Moto 360 inside a TAG Heuer designed and produced case and bracelet could be an interesting and commercially successful product.
The watch industry has always used "insides" called movements manufactured by other companies. Seiko, ETA and Sellita are some of the largest producers of movements.
And other brands such as Tag Heuer are referred to as "casers". It doesn't sound particularly chocking or different to me if Heuer were to put a Google "movement" inside one if its watches, instead of a Sellita movement as it does now.
I wouldn't buy it though. But then again I am not interested in the Apple Watch either so my opinion is useless for market research anyway
The watch industry has always used "insides" called movements manufactured by other companies. Seiko, ETA and Sellita are some of the largest producers of movements.
And other brands such as Tag Heuer are referred to as "casers". It doesn't sound particularly chocking or different to me if Heuer were to put a Google "movement" inside one if its watches, instead of a Sellita movement as it does now.
I wouldn't buy it though. But then again I am not interested in the Apple Watch either so my opinion is useless for market research anyway
I really don't know what the big deal of smart watches is. It's just one more damn thing that you have to charge every day. The battery doesn't even last a full day.
You don't need an OS if all you implement is hrm and daily sync, that is smart enough for most of their customers for now. The next big requirement will be to be able to call your car.
That may be true, but note that before Apple announced the Apple Watch no one was even suggesting a smartwatch would be anything other than a $300 or less device aimed at techies. The stainless steel Apple Watch will likely be several hundred to $1000, while the 18kt gold model could be several thousand dollars. That someone who is in that $1000 market is now going into smartwatches suggests that the market is bigger than previously thought.
We are nearing the end of 2014, and Edy Cue said that before the 2014 ends Apple will unveil to the world something more significant than Macintosh/Mac/OSX/iPhone/iPad combined.
Later, Time Cook confirmed that statement from Edy Cue.
14 days to go, nothing even near the Macintosh was released yet. Still waiting ...
Later, Time Cook confirmed that statement from Edy Cue.
14 days to go, nothing even near the Macintosh was released yet. Still waiting ...
Interesting how the smart watch business is forcing the hand of traditional watch makers to get on board, it's gonna be fun to watch how adaptive these watch makers can be and if they can compete with "inferiors" who at some point in the future will be leading the market because i don't believe that there is a different market for everyone, maybe now there is but 10 years down the road or even less everybody is gonna be wearing a smart watch.
This can play in a mix with two of the following ways.
1) Someone buys Pebble, mismanages it and it goes the way of Palm.
2) Pebble has a OEM licensing agreement in the works for the past year that the watch makers are now taking seriously so they don't have to hire anyone that knows how to code.
3) All smoke and mirrors, the watch makers just keep on with their typical individualization marketing seeing the Apple watch as yet another timekeeping piece fad.
4) The much rumored Microsoft Smartwatch launches.
5) Andriod Wear gets a high end licensee list of these watch makers.
6) Someone totally new in stealth mode shows up.
1) Someone buys Pebble, mismanages it and it goes the way of Palm.
2) Pebble has a OEM licensing agreement in the works for the past year that the watch makers are now taking seriously so they don't have to hire anyone that knows how to code.
3) All smoke and mirrors, the watch makers just keep on with their typical individualization marketing seeing the Apple watch as yet another timekeeping piece fad.
4) The much rumored Microsoft Smartwatch launches.
5) Andriod Wear gets a high end licensee list of these watch makers.
6) Someone totally new in stealth mode shows up.