Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45: Atom Z3400, Android Wear 2.0, Starts at $1650
by Anton Shilov on March 18, 2017 10:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartwatch
- Intel
- Atom
- Mobile
- Android Wear
- Tag Heuer
Tag Heuer last week announced its new generation smartwatch, co-developed with Google and Intel. The new Connected Modular 45 timepiece uses an Intel SoC, runs Google’s Android Wear 2.0, and is listed with 'expanded functionality'. Tag Heuer will also offer a variety of customization options for the new smartwatch and aim to address different market segments with the new product. Furthermore, the watchmaker says that the Connected Modular 45 design could easily fit a mechanical module and be converted into a regular timepiece.
Tag Heuer, Google and Intel formally introduced their first-gen connected smartwatch in late-2015. The wristwatch was the first device of the kind for Tag Heuer and for Intel, and so it was largely a test vehicle for both of them. As it turned out, the Tag Heuer Connected was considered a success by its developers and with the second generation they decided to install a more capable computing platform, a better display and introduce customizable design options. The use of Google Android Wear 2.0 should expand the overall functionality of the new smartwatch, in order to offer more features.
Tag Heuer will offer different configurations of the Connected Modular 45: 11 standard versions available in retail and additional configurations upon request. Each timepiece consists of three key elements which users can mix and match: the watch module, the lugs, and the strap. All watch modules are made of grade 5 titanium 5 with a sand-blasted satin finish (of a chosen color), but users can choose bezels of different colors made of ceramic, gold, aluminum, titanium, and even covered with diamonds. The lugs can match the bezels and thus can be made of aluminum, titanium, ceramic and so on. Finally, the manufacturer will offer a variety of straps featuring different colors (black, brown, red, green, etc.) made of calfskin, rubber, ceramic or titanium.
The central piece of the Connected Modular 45 is, of course, the watch module. The latter is based on the Intel Atom Z3400-series SoC (Merrifield, two Silvermont cores, 1 MB cache) equipped with 512 MB of LPDDR3 memory (down from 1 GB in the previous-gen model) and 4 GB of NAND flash memory. The device comes with a wireless module featuring Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and NFC as well as a host of sensors, including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt detection sensor and an ambient light sensor. In addition, the module has a water-resistant microphone and a vibration/haptics engine, but no speaker. The most notable upgrade of the new Tag Heuer smartwatch is the new 1.39” AMOLED display, with a 400×400 resolution and 287 PPI, which is higher than many competing wearable devices. The display is covered with a 2.5-mm sapphire glass, just like many Swiss-made watches. As for the battery, the manufacturer states that it has a capacity of 410 mAh and claims it can last for up to 25 hours.
| Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 | |||
| Processor | Intel Atom Z3400-series 2×Silvermont PowerVR G6400 GPU |
||
| RAM | 512 MB LPDDR3 | ||
| Storage | 4GB eMMC NAND flash | ||
| Display | 1.39" AMOLED 400×400 resolution 287 PPI pixel density 2-point touch |
||
| Display Protection | 2.5-mm Sapphire Glass | ||
| Wireless | Bluetooth 4.1 Wi-Fi NFC GPS |
||
| Sensors | accelerometer gyroscope tilt detection sensor ambient light sensor |
||
| Battery | 410 mAh Battery life: 25 hours |
||
| Charging | Magnetic charging cable | ||
| Water Resistance | 50 meters/50 atmosphere | ||
| Color | Black, titanium, aluminum, gold, diamond, etc. | ||
| Strap | Rubber, leather, ceramic, titanium | ||
| Dimensions | Diameter: ≦ 45 mm Height: 13.75 mm |
||
| Inputs | One button, touchscreen | ||
| Operating System | Google Android Wear 2.0 with phone application by Tag Heuer | ||
| Compatibility | Google Android 4.3+ Apple iOS 9+ |
||
| Price | Starts at €1600/$1650 | ||
All the Connected Modular 45 watch modules are 50 meters water resistant, just like mechanical watches by Tag Heuer. Now, speaking of mechanics, when someone buys the Connected Modular 45, they can easily switch the smartwatch module with a mechanical watch module that Tag Heuer offers: a moderately-priced Swiss mechanical movement module with 3 hands (calibre 5) or an expensive COSC-certified chronograph Tourbillon Heuer 02-T. Both are also water resistant.
One of the things that Tag Heuer has learnt since the launch of the original Connected smartwatch is that there is a market for premium smartwatches. As a result, the Connected Modular 45 will be available at different price points depending on their external finish. The starting price of the smartwatch is $1650/€1600/£1400, but when fully beefed up with diamonds, their price increases to around $7000. Additionally, Tag Heuer offers the so-called Deluxe Box Set that includes one Connected Modular 45 (in grade 5 titanium, with titanium lugs and brown natural leather strap) and one chronograph Heuer-02T tourbillon mechanical module for a total price of €16,650/$17,000 (ex. tax). Both electronics and mechanical modules come with a two-year warranty.
Sources: Tag Heuer, Google, Intel.
Related Reading:
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
36 Comments
View All Comments
yeeeeman - Saturday, March 18, 2017 - link
Hmm, if you have money falling off your pocket you can choose this watch. But maybe there is a better way to get this kind of watch, I mean, really the exact same capabilities with less money? Here you go http://www.gearbest.com/smart-watch-phone/pp_57617... . Same display (AMOLED, 1.39 inch 400x400), bigger battery (450mAh), metal case (you don't really need titanium, you will die before this watch is destroyed), full android experience - you can install everything you like, quad core CPU (compared to two Intel Silvermont), 1GB of RAM compared to 512, 8GB of storage compared to 4GB, SIM support compared to...nothing. Shall I continue? The only thing missing on the Finow X5 plus compared to this watch is the missing Tag Heuer badge which....can be engraved easily.mjeffer - Saturday, March 18, 2017 - link
This is aimed at people who buy luxury watches and they would have zero interest in buying that one you linked. This is for a niche market and for that market this price is right in line.shabby - Saturday, March 18, 2017 - link
There's nothing luxurious about this watch, its a regular smartwatch with a "high end" brand stamped on it, it will drop in value as soon as you put it on your wrist... meaning its not a luxury watch at all.eddman - Saturday, March 18, 2017 - link
"smartwatch with a "high end" brand stamped on it"...which is the whole point. Rich people buy brands. That's the most important thing to them. Specs might be important to some extent but are secondary for them.
geekman1024 - Sunday, March 19, 2017 - link
well, this watch and that one which yeeeeman linked, might be manufactured by the same Chinese factory....if that's the case, that will be a rather sad and funny ironic.BrokenCrayons - Monday, March 20, 2017 - link
It's stereotypical to say wealthy people care about branding. I'd argue to the contrary. People who have wealth are more effective money managers that understand the value of things and take into account product specifications, value for the cost, brand prestige, AND (something you forgot which is most important) the usefulness of a particular purchase. These trinkets are more for the upper middle class sorts that are trying to demonstrate wealth, but are actually not exactly above the masses of working class they're trying to escape.fanofanand - Monday, March 20, 2017 - link
I have to disagree with this. There are some wealthy people who are concerned with specifications and performance, but "most" wealthy people cannot be bothered to research items they are purchasing. Half the time they have an assistant who will be doing the purchasing for them, and the other half just buys whatever their friends have or whatever is most expensive. Truly wealthy people don't have time to sit down for a couple hours researching each purpose. They just tell their assistant "I need a new watch, get me a new Rolex and make it a good one" or something to that effect. We all probably have our own unique experiences with the wealthy that might guide our understanding, but my personal example would be my uncle in-law. The man is worth a few hundred million dollars, and all he cares about is prestige and appearance. He only buys/drives Mercedes "because it's a Mercedes", his watch is a Rolex, the list goes on and on. He doesn't know the first thing about tech, but he knows that "Apple is the best" so whatever is Apple, he buys. That doesn't make him dumb, the man is a brain surgeon and a lung surgeon, he is a brilliant man. He just doesn't have time to research "toys" which is what stuff like this is to the wealthy. It's one more watch to add to their collection. Nothing more.boozed - Monday, March 20, 2017 - link
That is how luxury brands like Tag Heuer operate. In the case of its mechanical watches, they're generally lightly modified off-the-shelf movements (e.g. ETA, Sellita) surrounded by a bunch of marketing. It's not so much about the value proposition.yeeeeman - Saturday, March 18, 2017 - link
I fully agree with what you said, just wanted to show how outrageous this offer is.Murloc - Saturday, March 18, 2017 - link
titanium is about weight not durability.