Tag Heuer has announced a partnership with Intel and Google to produce an Android Wear-based smartwatch. Past the chip manufacturer and software platform, nothing is currently known about the device, though the Swiss company did state that it will hold onto established Tag Heuer aesthetics.
The collaboration was announced at a press event at the Baselworld watch show in Switzerland, with Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver welcoming Android Wear director David Singleton and Intel's Michael Bell to the stage to discuss the project. While the announcement served as official confirmation that a luxury, Swiss "connected watch" is on the way from the company, we'll have to wait until the end of the year to get details on the device.
Powered by Intel, it's unclear whether the device will include features specific to the Tag Heuer product, or whether it will run the exact same version of Android Wear that we've seen on the Moto 360, Asus ZenWatch and others. To this point, Google has forbidden OEMs from "skinning" Wear with custom UIs (though they can throw in their own add-on apps).
While Tag Heuer was keen to point out that up to 80 percent of the components and labor for the watch will take place in Switzerland, the fact that the device's processor will be constructed outside of the country means that it will be not legally be able to carry the respected "Swiss made" label.
We'll have all the information on the new smartwatch when further details are announced towards the end of 2015.
Source: Tag Heuer