If you think TAG, or other, higher quality mechanical watches are in trouble, you're dreaming.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Tag Heuer Partnering With Google and Intel to Build Connected Smartwatch
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Perhaps but Apple seems to take other people's ideas and make them better. Witness the MP3 player, the Smartphone, the Tablet. As for taking other peoples ideas, lets face it, google copied a lot the iOS interface. Smartphones didn't look like they do today until other companies "slavishly" copied the iPhone's look and interface.
Further, it seems when a rumor breaks that Apple is planning something it seems that there is a bandwagon effect. Samsung appeared to fall all over itself to beat Apple to having a smartwatch. Apple has taken it's time to try to get it right. Maybe they will and maybe they won't. They have a pretty good track record. I'm going to sit the initial release out and may never own an Apple Watch but I'll keep enjoying my iPhone, iPad, iMac and MBA. They are all great products and there is not one company that comes close to having a lineup as strong as that.
If you don't, you're in denial.
The incumbent lux watchmakers are not going to disappear, but they will surely lose a signifant slice of revenue, and this is trouble.
Alternative cable package already on XBox One.
Scruff's response wasn't about Apple taking something and making it work. It was a response to this:
"it's just funny, and kinda sad, how theres no innovation outside of Apple. It's just copy Apple while bashing them. the world knows who microsoft, google, samsung, and all the rest take their marching orders from.
(insert name here)Pay, (insert name here)Watch, (insert name here)Car, (insert name here)Store Layout, (insert name here)Streaming Device, (insert name here) Alternative Cable Package, (insert name here)Streaming Music and on and on..."
This comment has nothing to do with Apple taking something and making it better. It's just a comment implying everyone copies Apple.
Don't see these watches being of much competition to something like Moto or Apple smartwatches, unless they go full digital LCD/components. What could they possibly offer otherwise besides some notifications and health monitoring?
Well, often times expensive doesn't translate to high quality. That's been one of TAGs issues that has caused the degradation of their reputation in the time since the TAG acquisition of Heuer. They are (from what I hear) getting better, but have a long way to go.
As far as chronos go, I tend to not really like chonos. I don't like to clutter up the dial with things/complications I'll never realistically use. I like a simple dial, 3 hands, and either baton markers or Arabic numerals that make a dial extremely legible at a glance. Date complication is fine, if done correctly.
No, they aren't going to. Here's why.
The people buying an Apple watch.. they weren't ever the target for a Rolex, or Panerai, AP or Patek Philippe. Not even TAG. The price points are so far apart, they're not even the same market. You don't buy one of those watches simply to tell time. You're buying a legacy, and possibly an heirloom item that you'll enjoy for the rest of your life, and then pass on. When you own a quality timepiece, they recommend you have it serviced every 4-5 years. That's a service on the inside and out, but many people grow to appreciate the patina the watch has earned. Scratches that one might have normally considered unsightly now become memories. A lot of people ask that that be left alone. That's never going to happen with the Apple Watch, because it's not meant to be kept forever. It'll last a few years (maybe) and then it's time for a new one.
You also say incumbent as if Apple has entered the luxury market, and they absolutely haven't. And you're the one in denial if you think they have. Spending $500-1000 on a watch isn't luxury. If Apple's going to cut into anyone's profits, it's going to be likes of Fossil, etc. Otherwise, they're defining a new market that isn't in any way at all at odds with the market for luxury timepieces.
For some reason that hurts fanboys. I don't know why, but they'd better start dealing with it.
The people buying an Apple watch.. they weren't ever the target for a Rolex, or Panerai, AP or Patek Philippe. Not even TAG. The price points are so far apart, they're not even the same market. You don't buy one of those watches simply to tell time. You're buying a legacy, and possibly an heirloom item that you'll enjoy for the rest of your life, and then pass on. When you own a quality timepiece, they recommend you have it serviced every 4-5 years. That's a service on the inside and out, but many people grow to appreciate the patina the watch has earned. Scratches that one might have normally considered unsightly now become memories. A lot of people ask that that be left alone. That's never going to happen with the Apple Watch, because it's not meant to be kept forever. It'll last a few years (maybe) and then it's time for a new one.
You also say incumbent as if Apple has entered the luxury market, and they absolutely haven't. And you're the one in denial if you think they have. Spending $500-1000 on a watch isn't luxury. If Apple's going to cut into anyone's profits, it's going to be likes of Fossil, etc. Otherwise, they're defining a new market that isn't in any way at all at odds with the market for luxury timepieces.
For some reason that hurts fanboys. I don't know why, but they'd better start dealing with it.
I think that depends on who you consider "lux watchmakers". To the average person, I think $500 and up for a watch is considered "luxury". Companies making watches in this price range will feel heat from Apple, probably all the way up to $1200-$1500. But, the true (basing this off of actual watch entusiasts "definitions" of luxury) luxury watch makers...Rolex and above...aren't going to feel any pressure (at least not right now) from Apple's watch. People looking to spend $6000 and up (about where Rolexes start) aren't looking for a "gadget".
Here. Someone who knows watches gets it. Apple is NOT a luxury watch maker, and honestly, if all they make are smartwatches, they never will be. You have to be a luxury watch customer (TAG doesn't count, really) to understand that Apple isn't going to do well in the "true" luxury market, because we see this as a gadget. To gain prestige, clout, etc and be considered a luxury watch maker, you HAVE to appeal to those buying Rolexes, JLCs, PPs, APs, Langes. And the Apple watch, even in gold, doesn't do that. It can't, and won't.
Mandrake, do you recall what Clemenceau once said about watches? He said watches were too important to be left to programmers and computer engineers. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, watches are too important to be left to the jewelers. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for technological thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Swiss infiltration, Swiss indoctrination, Swiss subversion and the international Swiss conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily wearables.
Whilst I agree with you, you have to remember that Apple is not directly competing with the likes of AP, PP, Rolex/Tudor, Panerai etc. I say "not directly" based on their pricing strategy, not their product strategy.
Apple Watch is priced between $1,000 and $17,000. Tag Heuer operates quite strongly within this market. They are not a "high end" Swiss watch, you're right. But they are a mid-high end watchmaker, and Apple is in this market.
I don't think it's so much about Apple competing directly with luxury watchmakers that will hurt them; it's the fact that there's only room on your wrist for one watch (fashionably speaking). And when smartwatches replace smartphones as the main connected device and also acts as your main health monitor, I can easily see traditional wrist watches going the way of the pocket watch. So it's the inevitable progress that are at odds with all traditional watch makers. If I were them, I would be scared. Very scared.
TAG guy says here on youtube video "The difference between the TAG Heuer watch and the Apple Watch is very important, one is called Apple and the other one TAG Heuer".
He got a little cocky there.
"It will be a traditional look. It will not look like an Apple Watch. An Apple Watch looks like a miniaturised copy of its phone. Our watch will never look like a phone."
No idea when it'll be out, how much it'll be, what it can do, how long the battery will last, but at least we know it'll be a round one.
Exciting, it's a battle of design between Swiss design vs Ive's design
He got a little cocky there.
"It will be a traditional look. It will not look like an Apple Watch. An Apple Watch looks like a miniaturised copy of its phone. Our watch will never look like a phone."
No idea when it'll be out, how much it'll be, what it can do, how long the battery will last, but at least we know it'll be a round one.
Exciting, it's a battle of design between Swiss design vs Ive's design
I guess the "high end" part of all of this is just too subjective to define. One person's "high end" is another's "cheap". I have been experiencing this just today with introduction of a new Rolex at the BaselWorld show yesterday that I want, but having a hard time justifying the $25K price tag on it right now. Yet talking to my close friend who's also my Rolex dealer, he's already has a 2 year long waiting list for the watch (introduced just yesterday, mind you...not even being in stores until later this year). I'm wondering if I can swing a $25K, and others are calling ordering it without ever trying it on. So big variation in what's "high end".
I guess what I'm referring to as "high end" would be the Swiss industry leaders, elites, highest regarded brands, if you will. The "creme of the crop". I don't see any threat to them any time soon, and until I see them reacting to the smartwatch trend, I don't think it's accurate to even suggest that the "high end Swiss makers" are scared of the Apple watch. The bottom rung players, ....maybe.
I disagree with that. All wristwatch companies are scared because they know that people will not wear two watches. So, if people get addicted to getting their notifications from their smart watch, the wristwatch will get pushed out.
----------
"It will be a traditional look. It will not look like an Apple Watch. An Apple Watch looks like a miniaturised copy of its phone. Our watch will never look like a phone."
Can we all agree that making a smartwatch round like a wristwatch is a stupid idea? Scrolling text will be a nightmare.
Your watch isn't going to replace your phone. There's just no way no how. Not anytime in the foreseeable future. Luxury watch makers aren't scared, and they don't need to be.
They should be worried. There are many ETA movement watches in the sub $1,000 bracket. Most Swiss watch movements are produced by this maker, and Apple Watch will likely cannibalise sales.
TAG Heuer already has a better brand than products.
No I haven't but it was a guess, there is a probability that its better but I just guessed no.
She's a beauty
diamete? Uboats are usually too big for my liking 44-45 is the sweet spot for meI disagree. I select between IWC and Omega depending on use. Whilst both are beautiful items, I sense the maximum benefit of AppleWatch is leveraged when it is ever-present on one's wrist for health monitoring etc. I can see my traditional time-pieces spending more and more time in the watch winder as AppleWatch becomes my companion of choice.
Google is doing the software for tag there is no panic. I'm sure TAG paid google and Intel some good dough.
----------
Man that's better than any smart watch with sensors that are being made lol
This could be a valid concern...IF smartwatches take off. But, that's a long time from now. Very few people in the foreseeable future are going to take of a Rolex, shelve it, and wear an Apple watch instead full time. Watch enthusiasts already have multiple watches they own that have to compete for wrist time, and those owners (myself included) rotate them based on event/occasion/activity. And who's to say that the smartwatch doesn't remain in the realm of workout-related gear, anyway?
The big Swiss companies have weathered attacks before that "experts" thought would surely do them in...namely the Quartz revolution in the '70s-'80s. Cheap, accurate watches that people were saying made mechanical watches obsolete. What happened? The best mechanical companies weathered the storm. Heck, Rolex even introduced a battery powered, quartz movement OysterQuartz watch, and produced it up until the early 2000s (most people don't even know they made that). But, Rolex has always been more cutting edge than people realize. They started on quartz tech in the '50's, and developed several patents long before quartz actually even became commonplace.
So don't think that these big Swiss companies aren't keeping an eye on trends and can't/couldn't adapt if they saw an oncoming threat. Companies like Rolex aren't stupid. Rolex is one of the most advanced companies in R&D/manufacturing out there. Who's to say the wheels aren't already turning on a way to merge their mechanical heritage with the digital age? Can you imagine a Rolex (or insert your favorite Swiss company), using their auto-winding/self powering expertise, making a mechanical/digital hybrid that charged itself on the movement of your body?
This famous clip based on the novel's scene regarding the Two Minutes of Hate shows exactly what I think of rabid Apple fans brainwashed to hate the competition as fed by the Authority ( Jobs/Cook ):
https://youtu.be/t4zYlOU7Fpk
And here's the wiki page of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Minutes_Hate
By the way, I've read the book so I know how propaganda is spun.
So, Apple is "Oceania" and the competition is "Eurasia" and "Eastania".
If there's any one thing that will make or break the Apple Watch it's however much focus and emphasis they place on health and fitness, but even then, it's a fat chance I'll drop my Daytona for the Apple Watch. Different strokes for different folks I suppose, but I think for the majority of people that can afford and do own nicer timepieces, there's not going to be much of a struggle in terms of which to go with on a day to day basis.
You can't be serious with this? No innovation outside of Apple? I thought I had seen it all. You certainly take the cake on this one.