I was lucky enough to review a Tag Heuer Connected Smart Watch courtesy of Watches of Switzerland in Hudson Yards. Watches of Switzerland is an authorized dealer of Tag Heuer, as well as many other brands, including Rolex and Patek Philippe. In reviewing the Connected I was interested in seeing whether a smartwatch could take away wrist time from the mechanical pieces that make up my collection.

If you are like me and are a mechanical watch collector, the first question I’m sure your wondering is why even bother buying a smartwatch? There are obvious downsides to spending a significant chunk of cash on any piece of technology. The biggest being that even with operating system updates, the tech will eventually become obsolete. With that being said, there are significant advantages to wearing a smart watch. As someone who spends a lot of time staring at a phone (I am an Instagrammer) a smart watch gives me access to my messages and notifications without taking my phone out of my pocket. It keeps me a little bit more in the moment when I am out to dinner or with friends and family.

Secondly, there are quite a few fun little aspects to the Tag Heuer smartwatch for someone who wants a smartwatch and high end wristwatch all in one. Not only does the Connected track your steps, workouts, deliver notifications, and everything else you would expect, it gives you some exclusive Tag Heuer dial skins. These skins offer a range of traditional Tag Heuer watch dials, including the Helios, Heuer 01, Porsche (yes Porsche!), and the Heuer 02 (who doesn’t want skeleton dial, even if it’s just a screen?). There are fun dials like the Super Mario dial, and more traditional digital style skins for ease of telling time.

The Basics

The Connected is a very handsome watch. It has a heavy duty stainless steel case (though it also comes in titanium) with a PVD ceramic bezel. The watch both looks and feels expensive, something you cannot say about most Android-based smartwatches. The watch looks and feels like Tag Heuer took one of their Swiss mechanical watch cases and reversed engineered their smartwatch to fit inside (I know that’s not what they did, but it’s a good thing it appears that way). The perforated rubber strap is perfect for strenuous fitness activities, and the watch comes on a high end deployant buckle.

The watch runs on the Google WearOS Android platform but Tag Heuer has their own bespoke app that allows further customization as well as their own apps and fitness tracking.

Wearability

The Connected is a large watch at 45mm in diameter and 13.5mm thick. In my view a large watch is necessary for any smartwatch to be truly functional. While the watch is large, Tag Heuer makes up for it by making the lugs and crown and pushers short. This allows for the wearer to get maximum screen size without the watch looking like a wall clock on their wrist. Indeed, I have 6.75 inch wrist and the watch doesn’t look out of place on my wrist (all the wristshots were taken on my wrist).

Additionally, the watch is simply comfortable to wear. The rubber strap is smooth and breathable, and the watch is light enough to not be a nuisance during fitness activities. The deployant mechanism does not clip-snap into any holes on the strap, which allows the wearer to make tiny adjustments. This can become necessary when your wrist expands during physical activity/sweating.

Customization

As discussed above, the watch can easily be set to different dials, with each dial variation color customizable on the watch or through the Tag Heuer mobile app. There are plenty of dial designs available, including the Heuer 02 - which is one of my personal favorites. I have always thought the Tag Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 represented one of the best bangs for your buck in the skeleton dial space. The fact that you can have this dial on your smart watch, while also showcasing calories burned, steps taken, and beats per minute, is pretty damn cool.

Battery Life

One of the biggest questions I had when I first got a hold of the watch was “how long does the battery last?” This is an important question for any piece of wearable technology. I am happy to report that a single charge (which takes about 90 minutes) will last you the whole day. Sure, the watch has AMOLED technology that darkens the screen while you aren’t looking at it, but that is to be expected for a modern smart watch’s battery life.

Notifications

One of the biggest benefits I get out of a smartwatch are the notifications. Staying up to date on my notifications while my phone is tucked away in my pocket is less obvious and rude (maybe still a little rude though). After initially having some frustration with all my Twitter notifications coming through, the Tag Connected worked seamlessly. If you are running the watch with an iPhone, as I do, you will have to make sure you allow messages to be seen on your locked screen, otherwise text/iMessage notifications won’t come through.

Additionally the watch doesn’t have an obnoxious way of displaying notifications. This is thanks to Tag’s non-intrusive measures of displaying the notification how the wearer seems fit. This can include a number of animations or displays that allow simple push notifications to be swiped or tapped away or have health notifications be more in your face. The notifications are infinitely customizable on the Tag Heuer Connected.

Fitness

The watch has both a built-in GPS and heart-rate monitor, which are helpful for all your fitness tracking needs. The watch has specialized modes for golf, running, cycling, walking, fitness, swimming, indoor running, and other. I have only tested the watch for fitness (weightlifting) and running, but it seems to work as advertised. I have always thought that a smartwatch is a great compliment to a workout as I used to religiously wear an Apple Watch while working out (and really only during workouts).

Tracking your calories, workout time, and heart rate is extremely easy on the watch’s built in app. I am not quite sure how the other categories differ from “fitness” but I assume it helps the wearer categorize their workout to review later. While the app might not be necessary for a fitness lover, it definitely has its benefits. If you are someone that tracks calories, the watch is definitely helpful. I cannot say whether it is more or less accurate than the calorie tracking of an Apple Watch or Fitbit, but I assume it is similar.

Final Thoughts

So would I wear a Tag Heuer Connected? Absolutely. Probably not every day, but definitely to workout, or if I’m walking around Manhattan (where I live). The tracking and notifications definitely appeal to me. At under $2,000 the watch is relatively affordable. I mean, Apple Watch sells an Hermes edition for $1,300 USD. I would take the Tag Connected over a $1,300 Apple Watch every day of the week.

How much does the Tag Heuer Connected Cost?

The Tag Heuer Connected in stainless steel with rubber band retails for $1,800 USD. The same watch is $2,000 USD on a stainless steel bracelet. The titanium edition retails for $2,350 USD. You can see it in person at Watches of Switzerland in Hudson Yards or pick one up here.

Hands-On Tag Heuer Connected Smartwatch Review