This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 11, 2015.

NEW YORK: TAG Heuer SA, the Swiss watchmaker that is part of French luxury goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, showed off its first Internet-connected wristwatch on Monday, designed with Google Inc and Intel Corp.

The US$1,500 (RM6,570) Android-powered TAG Heuer Connected on sale in the United States starting on Monday is seen as a rival to the Apple Watch, which was launched earlier this year starting at US$349, with some versions at more than US$10,000.

The TAG Heuer Connected — based on the Carrera Connected watch design from the group popularised by Brad Pitt — is built with titanium, sapphire and the “best-in-class touchscreen technology”, according to the company’s website.

Like other smartwatches, the new wearable tech device allows users to receive notifications, text messages, and to identify callers on a connected handset. It also can monitor the user’s heartbeat.

TAG Heuer and the US tech firms announced a partnership in March to produce the watch. In the meantime, Apple teamed up with French luxury market’s Hermes International SA to produce a version of the iOS watch starting at US$1,250.

TAG Heuer chief executive Jean-Claude Biver said he believes there will be demand for the new watch.

“It’s not too late. The market is not considered to be consolidated yet,” he said at the New York unveiling.

The companies call the new device “an elegant connected watch that merges expertise of Swiss watchmakers with Silicon Valley engineers to set a new standard for high-tech performance, timeless aesthetics and supreme quality”.

The Carrera Connected watch can be paired with Google Android devices and those running Apple’s iOS, and can connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. In an interview with Switzerland’s Le Matin Dimanche, Biver said he does not consider Apple a direct competitor. — AFP