An Apple Watch is shown during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
IN PHOTO: An Apple Watch is shown during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

TAG Heuer, the Swiss luxury watchmaker, is reportedly working on a smartwatch by striking a partnership deal with the tech giants Google and Intel. The watch will apparently be marketed to compete with the Apple Watch, among other smartwatches. And notably, TAG Heuer is the first mainstream watchmaker to partner with Google and this deal is expected to expand to other upmarket brands owned by LVMH like Hublot and Zenith as well.

Troika Of Collaboration: TAG Heuer, Google And Intel

According to Bloomberg, TAG Heuer will reportedly take care of the design and development of the upcoming watch. Under the hood, the device will be powered by Intel’s microprocessor and will apparently run on Google's Android Wear platform. Plus, Google will also help with the required software development for the smartwatch. Adding a cherry on top, the TAG Heuer smartwatch release date is reportedly set for late 2015. The price, features and availability details will be revealed during the time of launch.

Meanwhile, at the Baselworld watch convention, Jean-Claude Biver, the LVMH watches chief, apparently acknowledged this is the biggest announcement ever in the 40 years he spent in the industry. He stated the upcoming TAG Heuer smartwatch will be the "greatest connected watch" ever.

"When I think about the watch, it's always been a marriage of beauty and utility," said David Singleton, Android Wear development head of Google. "We're going to do that with our partnership."

Speaking about market, Bloomberg notes the global market for smartwatches will likely increase to 28.1 million units in 2015 from 4.6 million in 2014. Even though, Apple is relatively late to introduce its first smartwatch, the Apple Watch, the tech giant is believed to amass 55 percent of the market share. With such a huge market for smartwatches unexplored, TAG Heuer will reportedly pursue the interest in making connected smartwatches.

On the other hand, watchmakers like Swatch, Breitling, Montblanc and Frederique Constant have also been integrating electronic features into their otherwise traditional watches. And apparently, the TAG Heuer smartwatch will not be made in Switzerland; instead, the manufacturing will happen in Silicon Valley, notes Bloomberg.

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