DEPLOYANT – Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles – Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles
In the recent years, luxury watch makers have sat up and took some keen interest in smart watches. This is not surprising, considering that a record of 21.1 million smartwatches were shipped out in 2016 – according to an article by South China Morning Post.
Although the majority of the smartwatches that were exported are priced less than S$ 500, but luxury watchmakers are eyeing a share of the cake as well. After all, the market for luxury smart watches are not adequately addressed just yet, with only a handful of luxury brands producing smart watches at the moment.
So, you might wonder – who are these watch manufacturers? And how do they stack up against the benchmark, which in this case, is the Apple Watch? Let’s find out!
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch Series 2.
We begin the article with the ubiquitous Apple Watch Series 2, which we will be using as the benchmark for today’s article.
When the first Apple Watch was launched in 2015, many see the move as a risky manoeuvre. After all, watches are considered an entirely new segment for the California-based technology company. Nonetheless, it proved many doubters wrong – especially since the brand has a huge fan base, and watch is rather well-designed with a smooth rectangular case.
The Apple Watch is now in generation 2, and comes packed with a chockfull of functions. It includes a built-in GPS, fitness tracker, calendar, and notifications (from your iPhone), amongst the many applications that are available. The design of the watch is also customisable, with a large array of strap options that are available.
Priced from S$ 548 onwards, we reckon that the Apple Watch is very decently priced for a device that is capable of so many functions. Our only qualm is its short battery life, which is around 18 hours. Apple also does a special series with luxury maker Hermès – the Apple Watch Hermès Stainless Steel Case with Étoupe Swift Leather Double Tour which retails for S$ 2,028. And if that’s not enough, the Series 1 Apple Watch had a limited run in solid gold now discontinued starting at US$ 10,000.
Montblanc Summit Smartwatch
The Montblanc Summit Smartwatch. Picture courtesy of Montblanc.
The Montblanc Summit Smartwatch is not the first device from the brand to enter the bandwagon. Back in 2015, Montblanc launched the TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap – which is a strap that allows user to give their watches the “smartwatch” functions that they have been deprived.
Fast forward two years later, Montblanc decided to push it up a notch, with the Summit Smartwatch. The 46mm timepiece was inspired by the 1858 collection, but with some tweaks. For instance, to match its status as a smartwatch, Montblanc has fitted the timepiece with either a steel or titanium case – giving it a more contemporary look.
The Summit Smartwatch is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 and Android’s Wear 2.0 – and it is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. In addition, it can also operate on its own independently, with applications such as Google Maps and Assistant that comes in handy as well. It […]
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Article from: DEPLOYANT – Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles, by Robin Lim
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