« Breitling Exospace B55 vs. Tag Heuer Connected vs. Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch »
The rise of the smartwatch is arguably one of the most important trends in the watch market today, and the luxury segment is no exception. With TAG Heuer and Breitling, two of the watch industry's top-tier manufacturers have already launched products of this kind. In this article, we take a closer look at three luxury smartwatch models: the Breitling Exospace B55, the Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch and the TAG Heuer Connected.
Avant-garde in the Luxury Smartwatch Segment, Too
For more than a hundred years, the watch manufacture TAG Heuer has cultivated a decidedly avant-garde image.
This is not mere marketing; it is rooted in the remarkable number of innovations and patents with which the company, still based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, has written watchmaking history and played a decisive role in shaping the industry's technical progress. So it came as no great surprise that this very brand was the first luxury manufacturer to venture into smartwatches, bringing the first "true" luxury smartwatch to market with the TAG Heuer Connected Modular.
When the first Connected model was unveiled in New York in November 2015, Jean-Claude Biver compared the situation to a game of poker. He said at the time that he wanted to keep his risk manageable but still be in the game.
Smartwatches were no longer a complete novelty by then, but up to that point it had mainly been electronics giants such as Apple, Samsung and others that had taken on this product category, while the watch industry – particularly in Switzerland – long remained very hesitant.
Biver knew that, in terms of timing, his company would no longer be at the industry's vanguard in developing its own smartwatch. All the more reason, then, for him to present a truly avant-garde solution in terms of product features.
A Luxury Smartwatch Built on a Partnership with Intel and Google
The result of the partnership that followed, with Intel and Google supplying the electronic components and the Android software respectively, was not a conventional smartwatch but rather a kind of microcomputer dressed as a luxury watch. The computing power of Intel's "Atom Z34XX" processor would – given the right interfaces – be enough to run it like a small computer with a screen and keyboard. And although you cannot type on this watch's touchscreen, it can be controlled by voice commands.
Unlike other smartwatches, the Connected never shows a black display, even in power-saving mode, but always an analog dial. Owners have plenty of options when it comes to its design. Black, white and blue are available as colors, and a three-hand watch with day-date is just as possible as a GMT display with an additional 24-hour hand or a chronograph version. Further designs can be downloaded via WiFi. The next level, reserved for smartphone-independent functions such as alarm, stopwatch and timer, is reached at the push of a button. There are also sensor-based functions for measuring speed and monitoring sleep, as well as an activity tracker. In addition, various apps from Google's Play Store can be installed and used. Individual apps are shown either in sectoral displays or, with a tap on the touchscreen, in full-screen view. Downloading apps and communicating with cloud services works directly via WiFi or, alternatively, via Bluetooth through the smartphone.
With a diameter of 46 millimeters, the case of TAG Heuer's first luxury smartwatch is roughly comparable to a larger sports chronograph. A full charge lasts up to 30 hours. The titanium case is worn on a rubber strap available in various colors, with a titanium folding clasp. Given its higher price compared with other smartwatches, the Connected was offered with a special option from the outset. Every buyer was given the opportunity, once the two-year warranty had expired, to trade the watch in for a mechanical watch – a special edition of the Carrera collection reserved exclusively for this purpose.
Model Update in 2022: Connected Calibre E4
With the Connected Calibre E4, the TAG Heuer smartwatch entered its fourth generation in 2022. Case sizes have been adjusted or expanded over the generations, and customers can choose between 42 mm and 45 mm. The batteries and processors were also updated. Ultimately, though, the brand relies on its proven partnership with Google. The Connected is thus a Wear OS watch with a familiar SoC; only the manufacture's own apps set it apart.
With more than 50,000 watches sold, TAG Heuer's foray into the smartwatch segment quickly became a success, prompting the manufacturer to launch the second generation of the Connected after less than a year and a half. First presented in March 2017, the Connected Modular 45 differs from its predecessor above all in its considerably expanded customization options, which affect the inside of the watch as well as its exterior. Several different colors and materials are available for the strap as well as for the case body, lugs and bezel, offered in various combinations.
As with the original version, the case of the Connected Modular 45 is made of titanium and measures 45 millimeters in diameter. In its base version, the model comes with a stainless steel bezel and a colored rubber strap. Alternatively, TAG Heuer's luxury smartwatch is available in various versions with a colored aluminum bezel, for which buyers can choose between straps in black or orange rubber, black leather or titanium. Versions with a ceramic bezel, black ceramic-coated lugs or various gold coatings, as well as diamond settings, are also available.
Straps, clasps and lugs can be purchased later and swapped out yourself at any time thanks to a simple plug-in system.
The key technical innovations of the Connected include, above all, GPS, which now allows sports activities to be tracked without a smartphone. Also new is an NFC chip for mobile payments via Android Pay. Legibility and operation have been improved, as has the range of functions of the Connected Modular. The sapphire crystal is even more robust, and in addition to Android smartphone users, iPhone users can now also access all available apps.
The options for swapping the watch module have also been expanded. Instead of the Connected module, you can now choose between two mechanical modules: one is a three-hand version of the Carrera Calibre 5, the other a Carrera Calibre Heuer 02 Tourbillon.
Breitling's Luxury Smartwatch for Pilots
In the public eye, the Grenchen-based watch manufacture Breitling stands above all for high-quality pilot's chronographs. The brand's traditionally close ties to aviation are also unmistakable in the concept of its first luxury smartwatch. Unlike TAG Heuer's offerings in this segment, the buyer of a Breitling Exospace B55 Connected is not offered a luxury smartwatch with a mechanical alternative, but an instrument that evolved organically from a high-precision quartz pilot's watch.
This is evident in the watch's movement, Breitling's exclusive SuperQuartz caliber, which offers a range of functions tailored specifically to pilots' needs. The ability to connect to a smartphone makes the watch particularly user-friendly. The smartphone can be used to adjust certain settings on the Exospace, and conversely, results measured with the chronograph can be sent to the smartphone, while various notifications can be shown on the watch's display. Breitling's Exospace itself is not connected to the internet, however; it communicates only with the smartphone.
In this respect, it is not a smartwatch in the conventional sense, but rather an exceptionally high-quality, feature-rich pilot's watch that is likely to find admirers beyond the runway and the cockpit as well.
It offers a classic flyback chronograph function, an electronic tachymeter, a perpetual calendar with week display, a timer, a seven-day alarm and a UTC universal time display. Pilots can also use the Exospace B55 to record important logbook data as easily as possible and process it conveniently later on.
These include, for example, block-off and block-on times, takeoff and landing times, and flight durations. In the Chronoflight mode of this special luxury smartwatch, all of this information can be logged using the pushers and then transferred to the smartphone via the app.
The First True Luxury Smartwatch? – Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch
The Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch takes a different path in many respects. Its approach of integrating a display into the dial rather than rendering the entire watch digitally sets the Horological Smartwatch apart from the Tag Heuer Connected. Smartwatch elements appear in the lower half of the dial at an appropriate size. The advantage: more room is left for luxury. Customers can enjoy physical hands without having to forgo smartwatch functions. The finest materials combine the tradition of Swiss watchmaking with the latest Silicon Valley technology. The Horological Smartwatch is also the first to fully differentiate between a ladies' smartwatch and a men's smartwatch in design and size, with 36 mm and 42 mm versions available. When the dial is a display, distinguishing between a ladies' and a men's watch is naturally harder than here.
The smaller display and the classic quartz movement also make for luxury in terms of battery life. The Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch runs on a watch battery said to last 2 years, independent of the watch's rechargeable battery, which lasts up to 11 days on a single charge. So if you are primarily looking for a dress watch that also offers smartwatch functions, you will love the Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch. For tech enthusiasts with a passion for horology and its glamorous brands, on the other hand, the Tag Heuer Connected is a perfect fit. Finally, we especially recommend the limited Connected Golf Edition to golf lovers.
