Swatch CEO Nick Hayek has confirmed that they’re developing a smartwatch to compete with the upcoming Apple Watch, and so far it sounds like the perfect blend of style and smarts, with supposedly neverending battery life.
The Swiss-born billionaire, who has been openly sceptical of wearables in the past, stated that Swatch is looking to release the watch very soon – within the next three months, in fact. And with promises of incredible battery life, the Swatch smartwatch could be the wearable we’ve been waiting for.
Swatch has obviously been making watches for a long time and has all kinds of patents up its sleeves, including batteries so thin they can be bent. So now the company is bringing all of its watchmaking nous to the smartwatch market, with a view to carving itself a healthy slice in the coming months.
Hayek stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the Swatch smartwatch will utilise NFC to communicate with companion hardware and it will be compatible with both Windows Phone and Android.
The most exciting feature of the Swatch watch, which could eliminate our most hated smartwatch drawback, is that it won’t need to be charged – a killer feature in a marketplace full of devices which require frequent replenishment.
Hayek also said that the watch will allow users to make mobile payments, to rival Apple Pay.
In addition to being an experienced player in the watchmaking market, Swatch also owns brands which have been dipping their toe in technologically advanced waters for some time. The company’s Tissot brand has been making touch-screen enabled watches for over 15 years and their timepieces now offer compasses, altimeters and sensors to record a diver’s progress too.
It’s no coincidence that Swatch has selected this moment to make its plans known. The Apple Watch is expected to launch in April and the company clearly wants to position its upcoming wearable against Cupertino’s offering – which has reportedly been suffering from issues with battery life during its development stage.
Will Swatch’s smartwatch be enough to wrest potential buyers from Apple’s grasp? We’re not so sure, but we’re looking forward to seeing what the company’s premier smartwatch has to offer.
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