Luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer announced late last week it was joining forces with technology behemoths
Google and Intel to develop a smartwatch that can compete with the new Apple
Watch.

The timepiece, which aims to combine Swiss watchmaking know-how with
high-end technology, is expected to hit stores by the end of the year, TAG
Heuer chief Jean-Claude Biver told the Baselworld watch fair.

“Silicon Valley and Switzerland are going to conquer the market of the
connected watch,” he told a press conference at the world’s largest trade show
for timepieces, in the northern Swiss city of Basel.

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Biver, an industry legend who also leads the watch division of TAG Heuer’s
owners LVMH, did not reveal how much the watch would cost or which functions
it would feature.

“We don’t want the competition to know what we are going to do,” he said.
“We want them to be surprised.”
In a statement, the three companies said their partnership “signifies a new
era of collaboration between Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley, bringing
together each company’s respective expertise in luxury watchmaking, software
and hardware.”

Guy Semon, TAG Heuer general manager, added that when renowned Swiss
watchmaking “is allied with the creative technology and the global power of
two companies like Intel and Google, using the Android Wear platform and based
on Intel technology, we can see the launch of a technological revolution in
our industry.”

David Singleton, head of engineering for Android Wear, said Google was
“thrilled” with the project, telling the news conference the three companies
were ready to “a better, beautiful, smarter watch.”

And it’s a partnership aimed at taking on industry giant Apple.
On March 9 Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled its new gadget aiming for wrists.
“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology,” said
Cook at a media event in San Francisco.

It marked Apple’s first new category gadget since the iPad.
While the Swiss-Silicon Valley version is still on the drawing boards, the
Apple Watch will be available in nine countries from April 24, at a starting
price of 349 dollars — although there is a limited edition gold watch for 10,000 dollars.

Connecting wirelessly to a user’s iPhone, the watch is designed as a wrist
device for messaging, calls and a cornucopia of apps, especially those geared
toward health or fitness.

The smartwatch market already has a number of players, from South Korean
giants Samsung and LG, to Japan’s Sony and startups such as Pebble.
The global market for smartwatches may rise to 28.1 million units this
year, from 4.6 million in 2014, with Apple capturing more than half of it,
reported Bloomberg citing researcher Strategy Analytics.

“But in so doing, Apple will bring very valuable attention to the market,
essentially releasing a rising tide that will float all their boats,” said
Forrester analyst James McQuivey after the Apple Watch unveiling.

And the new smartwatch partnership hopes to launch the timepiece equivalent
of a yacht.
“The collaboration with TAG Heuer and Google brings us closer to realising
the vision of wearable technology with a distinctive smartwatch that elevates
the category,” said Intel’s Michael Bell.

TAG Heuer watches start from around 1,500 dollars and prices for more exclusive
models can reach over 10,000 dollars.
“The difference between the TAG Heuer watch and the Apple watch is very
important,” said Biver. “That one is called Apple and this one is called TAG
Heuer.” (Nathalie Olof-Oros, AFP)