Internet connected Swatch Smartwatch does not need to be charged says Swatch CEO.
Swatch is announcing a Smartwatch that is internet connected but does not need to be charged. The Swatch Smartwatch news comes directly from Swatch CEO Nick Hayek.
The Swiss watch industry has changed its tune about the Apple Watch. Swiss watch makers moved from talking the Apple Watch down to actively competing with it within 6 months. The Swatch Smartwatch is supposed to be released in the next three months.
The Apple Watch comes in April. Looks like the Swatch Smartwatch will be released after the Apple Watch.
Swatch has with Tissot brand already touchscreen watches on the marked since 1999. Switzerland is able to make smartwatches. The question is if they can succeed in the software part of this. Apple is delivering the whole ecosystem with the Apple Watch. Swatch likely needs to partner with someone like Google’s Android to offer a similar breath of applications.
Swatch CEO Nick Hayek made the comments about the Swatch Smartwatch in an interview with Bloomberg.
Maybe Swatch will already introduce the Swatch Smartwatch at the Baselworld 2015 on March 19.
Besides Swatch, Tag Heuer has already announced a smartwatch. Tag Heuer CEO said a couple weeks ago that Switzerland has not the capacity to make smartwatches. Swatch might beg to differ as they actually have their own semiconductor business with EM Microelectronic.
Swatch could be in the position to make most of the hardware for the Swatch Smartwatch themeselves.
It will be interesting to see what Hayek means with the statement that the Swatch Smartwatch does not need to be charged. He hits the Apple Watch were it hurts most, but what could be the alternative? Swatch will not have a secret battery technology that nobody else has. The only option i see is that the Swatch smartwatch has a small feature set and uses some low-end display that does not require a lot of energy like e-Paper.
Just to be connected to the internet is also not enough of a feature. The whole notification aspect of Smartwatches is seen as providing the lowest value. Smartwatches need a bunch of sensors to provide user value.
The ability to pay with the Swatch Smartwatch would be good value, but can Swatch command the power like Apple to create the infrastructure. Apple Pay has already great momentum. The biggest of any attempts to make mobile payments ubiquitous.