TAG Heuer’s New Smartwatch Ditches Google’s Wear OS to Be Apple Friendly
Exactly like Google’s Wear OS is catching on – now feature-rich with rugged smartwatches that can go toe-to-toe with the Apple Watch – luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has decided to ditch the operating system altogether for its latest Connected Caliber E5 smartwatch. Instead, it runs a proprietary “TAG Heuer OS” (still based on Android). But unlike most of the latest Wear OS smartwatches designed only for Android phones, this one is compatible with iPhones.
This is probably one of the main reasons for this change, as Google seems to have abandoned the compatibility of its smartwatch platform with Apple’s hardware (Apple has never made things easy, although that could change). This also allows the Swiss watchmaker to be less dependent on Google’s whims, but ultimately it means that TAG’s smartwatch won’t have access to the wealth of apps found on Google and Apple’s respective platforms.
I spent a few days with the 45mm Caliber E5 (there’s also a new 40mm variant), and this fifth-generation smartwatch feels refined, despite the software change. It’s also striking in design unlike any other smartwatch, with premium materials like a ceramic bezel, domed sapphire crystal, and sleek strap options. Unsurprisingly, the version I tried will set you back $2,000 when it goes on sale this month (and goes up to $2,800 for other variants), although the smaller 40mm E5 caliber starts at $1,800.
A luxury smartwatch
The Caliber E5 has a nice weight to it that gives it a luxurious enough feel to match this price. A polished stainless steel case, black polished ceramic bezel with silver inscriptions and a flat sapphire crystal also reinforce the premium pedigree. TAG of course has several other variations. You can get a black diamond-like carbon (DLC) grade 2 titanium sandblasted case, white and green indexes, or a domed sapphire crystal on the display, exclusive to the new 40mm case.
The angled lugs provide a comfortable fit and the metal bracelet integrates well with the case. It’s interchangeable (there’s a button you press underneath to release it), although these bands are expressly designed for the E5. However, I was able to fit a 22mm pin buckle strap onto one of my other watches without any problem.
Despite its weight, I didn’t mind wearing this smartwatch to sleep, although you may want a more comfortable band. However, when I woke up the next morning, I spent a few minutes looking up my sleep results, only to learn that they didn’t exist. Again. TAG says it plans to add sleep tracking, likely in December via a software update, which is important considering it’s an essential feature on most smartwatches these days.
One of the best things about smartwatches is that you can switch between multiple watch faces, and the E5 is no exception, but many of them here mimic TAG’s mechanical watch models, like the Carrera or Aquaracer. It’s also quite simple to customize them on the watch itself, choosing different accent colors, backgrounds, and complications.
