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TAG Heuer Connected Watch review: The most fashionable Android Wear watch comes at a price

It's the sharpest looking Android smartwatch for sure, but can it possibly be worth that huge price tag?

Andrew Lanxon Editor At Large, Lead Photographer, Europe
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Expertise Smartphones, Photography, iOS, Android, gaming, outdoor pursuits Credentials
  • Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Andrew Lanxon
2 min read

So you want a smartwatch, but you don't want a tech brand name like LG or Samsung clashing with your fancy suit? Cast your eyes, then, over the TAG Heuer Connected.

7.2

TAG Heuer Connected Watch

The Good

The TAG Heuer Connected has striking, aggressive looks, it's made from luxury materials and the fashionable name of its maker will appeal to those of you looking for the finer things in life.

The Bad

It's extremely expensive yet functionally offers nothing that you won't find on Android Wear watches that cost a fraction of the price.

The Bottom Line

The TAG Heuer Connected is the most fashionable way of adding smart functions to your wrist. But it'll cost you a hell of a lot for privilege.

The Connected's chunky, angular titanium body and thick rubber strap gives the watch a striking look I'm very keen on. It's certainly more aggressive-looking than the sleek simplicity of the Apple Watch -- in fact with a range of great-looking TAG Heuer watch faces to choose from (styled after the company's analogue watches), you might not think it's a smartwatch at all. It's a big guy, though, so those of you with more dainty wrists will want to try before you buy.

tag-heuer-connected-watch-17.jpg
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Running the same Android Wear software as the LG G Watch or Moto 360, it connects to your phone (either Android or iPhone) and shows incoming notifications, steps taken and a wide variety of other information from. There are about 8,000 apps that work with Android Wear watches now, but they all essentially function as a second screen for your phone.

You swipe through the notifications -- shown as "cards" on the screen -- using the round 1.5-inch touchscreen. It's bright and responsive, and the 360x360-pixel resolution is sufficient for reading texts (although close up you can see individual pixels). I'd like to see a higher resolution, given the high price.

tag-heuer-connected-watch-10.jpg
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Which brings me on to my final point: the price. The watch costs a whopping £1,100 in the UK, $1,500 in the US and AU$2,000 in Australia. That's a lot to pay for a watch that does the same as the Moto 360, which costs only £229 or $300 (it's not yet available in Australia).

As a sweetener though, TAG Heuer has a scheme that allows you to trade in your Connected watch after two years, pay an extra £1,000, $1,500 or AU$2,000 and swap it for a mechanical watch, exclusively reserved for those of you who bought the Connected model. It's difficult to say whether this is a good deal or not, but it does at least mean that you'll have a watch to use long after the technology inside the Connected has become obsolete.

There's nothing wrong with the Connected watch itself. It's beautifully designed and those of you who want a fashionable name on your wrist, as well as a fancy new gadget, should at least go and take a look at one in a store. There's just no escaping that massive price tag though. If you're more excited about the smart features than the fancy name, save your money and go for any of the cheaper options.

7.2

TAG Heuer Connected Watch

Score Breakdown

Style 9Features 7Ease of use 7