Tag Heuer, a long-time Wear OS partner in the luxury space, is done with Google’s platform and switching to an “in-house” platform that’s still based on Android, but better supports iPhone.
Over the past few years, Wear OS has slowly dropped support for iOS. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and Google’s Pixel Watch both explicitly do not support iPhone, and while Google technically never removed iOS support from iOS, it’s gotten harder for brands to implement. That’s on top of the challenges that come from a third-party smartwatch connecting to iPhone in the first place, as Apple heavily restricts functionality. That recently led the EU to push Apple to open up iOS to third-party smartwatches, which appears to be on its way.
With the launch of its new smartwatch, though Tag Heuer is throwing in the towel on Wear OS.
As detailed by Wired, the new Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E5 runs a new “Tag Heuer OS” that’s based on Android, but no longer Wear OS. It does run on familiar hardware, though, using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 5100+ chipset.
Notably, Tag Heuer doesn’t really reference any of this on its listing for the watch, only saying:
The TAG Heuer OS, a proprietary user experience and interface developed entirely in-house, ensures intuitive navigation, keeping you connected and on track.
This switch also allowed Tag Heuer to pick up a “Made-for-iPhone” certification.
As far as pricing goes, the Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E5 starts at $1,900.
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