You’d be forgiven for thinking luxury smartwatches have had their day, but Tag Heuer is shaping up to prove otherwise. Visit the watch brand’s website and head to the Connected Watches section, and you’ll find a teaser for a new smartwatch that’s “coming soon.”
This is significant for several reasons, so let’s go into detail about why you should care about an expensive smartwatch.
What’s coming soon?
Don’t expect much to be given away
Visit the Coming Soon page, and you’re greeted by an animated, spinning dial which represents a ticking clock, and the announcement that the Connected Calibre E5 smartwatch will arrive in the future. What the page doesn’t provide is any indication of when we should expect the release.
For those unfamiliar with Tag Heuer’s smartwatches, its last major release was the Connected Calibre E4 in 2022, which followed the Connected (Gen 3) from 2020, showing it’s not keen to match the standard annual product update cycle we see from Samsung, Apple, and Google.
At this stage there’s no information on what to expect, hardware-wise, from the Tag Heuer Connected E5. The company has previously included Qualcomm chipsets, and has also worked with Google on the software too. The Calibre E4 came in two case sizes, 41mm and 45mm, so we’d expect the same for the new model.
Why specs aren’t the reason to buy
Materials and limited editions
Tag Heuer is unlikely to use anything but the most up-to-date processor, screen, and sensor technology, but unlike the spec-heacy focus for smartwatches made by tech brands, these won’t be the reasons to buy the Connected Calibre E5. Instead, it’ll be about the design, materials used, and the inevitable limited editions to come.
The Connected Calibre E4 had a steel case and the choice of a steel or ceramic bezel, and a version with a titanium case with a Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coating was also offered, along with sapphire crystal over the screen and a choice of Tag Heuer rubber straps and metal bracelets.
From the feel of the buttons to the surface finishing, a Tag Heuer smartwatch has always felt a step above even the poshest models from tech brands, something assisted by the wonderfully comfortable metal bracelets and straps.
Tag Heuer went on to release several special edition Connected Calibre E4 smartwatches, made with expected brands including Porsche, along with far less obvious partnerships like Nintendo and golf fashionistas Malbon Golf.
Tag Heuer flying the flag for luxury smartwatches
Strong marketing and strategy
Goodwood Festival of Speed/Matt Sills
Tag Heuer has long been committed to smartwatches. Its first connected watch came out in 2015 and was equipped with an Intel chip and Google’s Android Wear software. It innovated with a modular design several years later, which allowed you to change the entire smartwatch case for one with an automatic movement, all while retaining the strap and lugs. It then abandoned this for its 2020 Connected release, before introducing the Calibre E4 in 2022 with the emphasis on lifestyle and in-depth golf tracking.
Few other luxury watchmakers have embraced smartwatches in the same way, with only LVMH stablemate Hublot and its sporadically released connected Big Bang models, along with Montblanc’s desirable Summit series, making any meaningful impact. Outside of full smartwatches, brands including Alpina and Frederique Constant have experimented with hybrid watches, but none have taken luxury smartwatches as seriously as Tag Heuer. This patchy experimentation from other brands is why the Calibre E5 is so important, as without Tag Heuer’s consistency, the segment would be practically dead.
Tag Heuer remains the best-known Swiss watch brand making smartwatches, and everything from signing as the official timekeeper for Formula One and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, its collaboration with fashion brand Kith, and the release of its TH50-00 Solargraph movement has kept it in both mainstream and watch collector news over the past few years. It helps make now a great time to bring out a new smartwatch.
Tag Heuer has listed the Connected Calibre E4 model as discontinued on its website, and hidden links to the pages on its main page, suggesting the Connected Calibre E5 isn’t far away from launch.