back to article You gotta keep a smart watch on the Swiss, Apple: Enter SWATCH

Swiss watchmaker Swatch simply isn't going to roll over and give up in the face of Apple's upstart wrist-puter challenger. Biel-based Swatch is apparently working on a new smartwatch that will talk to Microsoft Windows computers and Google Android. In an an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Nick Hayek said his company will build …

  1. Annihilator
    Coat

    smartwatch to beat off Apple

    Swift one of the wrist?

    1. big_D Silver badge

      Re: smartwatch to beat off Apple

      How are they going to see of the Apple Watch, if their device only runs on Windows and Android? It won't work on iOS and the Apple Watch won't work on Android or Windows... Mutually exclusive markets there.

  2. Alan Denman

    Square or round ?

    "Here's a house, here's a door.Turn the lock.

    Which windows will it be today children

    Of course, the square window.

    1. Richard Taylor 2
      Trollface

      Re: Square or round ?

      Surely the square one with rounded corners?

  3. Mr.Mischief
    Coat

    Just don't wear it into a sex shop video booth

    You'll be paying with each "action" of your wrist..

  4. thomas k.

    Swatch?

    I thought they made cars.

    1. Message From A Self-Destructing Turnip

      Re: Swatch?

      Nah Mercedes make the cars, Swatch just do the branding and marketing as they apeal more to the hip urban types that the product is aimed at.

    2. Guy Geens

      Re: Swatch?

      Swatch partnered with Mercedes to design the Smart. They bailed out soon after, leaving Mercedes with the job of selling the cars.

  5. Dave 126 Silver badge

    Swatch have played this game before - in the nineties they made a pager watch

    1. Dabooka

      They did, and it was awesome

      I got one and secured loads of work through it. I'd call the office as soon as possbile and get booked in, whereas others were waiting on getting home to check their answerphones. Only paid about £30 reduced, from the BT shop at the top of Northumberland Street in Newcastle.

      I still have it somewhere, along with my Motorola pager which kind of preceeded it. No good for nothing now i know, but still kinda cool

  6. dogged

    Commoditisation

    Forget Apple (in the smartwatch market). They're charging too much for what is essentially a remote control for your phone and needs to be charged just as much as the phone does*. Even those iPhone owners who only bought it for the bling aspect are unlikely to cough up for this without a much better use case.

    Swatch do watches. "Everyman" watches. Low margin, bulk sale watches. Swatch are promising no recharging and, for a change, they can probably deliver. To take a flawed car analogy, this is a similar situation to Google announcing that a self-driving car that looks like an albino minion from Despicable Me will be along in a year's time and then nine months later VW saying they've got one that looks like a Golf and doesn't need servicing.

    * far eastern market provisionally excepted. The ability to draw characters on screen might be huge over there. No way to tell yet.

    1. Big_Ted
      Happy

      Re: Commoditisation

      A minion shapped car ?

      Change the colour to the correct yellow and I wil buy one

      https://genophoria.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/shut-up-and-take-my-money.jpg

      1. dogged

        Re: Commoditisation

        Join the queue behind my toddler.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Commoditisation

      Yes, rather than use a simple hand gesture, you now draw an image representing the gesture on your watch and show that to someone as you speak. How could that not be useful?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Commoditisation

      I bet you thought the iPad was just a big iPhone too.

      Here's what will happen. The first gen Apple Watch will sell to die-hard Apple nuts but will be lacking a few features and have crap battery life. Developers will come up with compelling apps. Generation 2 of the watch will have a better battery and add missing features and will sell like hot cakes.

      You don't have to be Nostra-fucking-damus to see how it will play out because it's what has happened with every Apple product

      1. James Hughes 1

        Re: Commoditisation

        Prior performance is not an indicator of future results.

        1. dogged

          Re: Commoditisation

          the single most compelling app for a watch is, er telling the time. There is literally nothing else that even comes close. I have a hard time believing that "developers will create compelling apps" that could possibly add so much value that that Swatch won't still be comparable and cheaper.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Commoditisation

        iPad was the "big ole iPod touch" as parodied in a youtube video.

        Apple TV isn't a resounding success is it?

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Commoditisation

      If anything Swatch have shown how boring and lacking in innovation Apple are.

      It should be Apple breaking new ground and having a self charging watch, but nope. They're obsessed with design details and talking about their digital crown (crown being slang for bellend).

  7. Tromos

    I used to make payments with a flick of the wrist.

    Bur the peasants always objected to having the coins flung in their faces.

    PS. Will the smartswatch have a pop-out cuckoo? If so, I want one.

  8. mix
    Stop

    Sue them all!!

    They'd be better off finding an old patent that claims that the "S" in Swatch stood for Smartwatch and claim royalties from everyone making a smartwatch today.

    Isn't that how business works now?

  9. Sarah Balfour

    Not to be pedantic, but…

    it should read "Nein-Non!" The border between the German and French-speaking regions runs exactly down the middle of Biel-Bienne, the town where Swatch has its HQ.

    Yes, I'll admit that I'm a sad twat with no life; Am I ashamed of this…? Nope! Haven't had a life for over 4 decades, FAR too late to get one now…

  10. RockBurner

    Swatch are in for a good shout

    They've got plenty of experience with making 'near-field' watches reliable for years. They've had a 'programmable pass' watch for at least 20 years that's compatible with things like Ski-lift system in resorts.

    Shoving in an NFC chip instead of a proprietary one, and programming an associated bit of memory with bank account information would be a p-o-p (essentially taking the chip out of the credit card and making it editable). It's an ideal use case scenario for something like Oyster readers too - no need for a tinfoil wallet - with only 1 NFC 'device' near the reader there's no chance of duplicate-payments. Security is no doubt doable.

    Come to think of it.... why ISN'T there an Oyster (S)watch??

    (or is there? - swift google : http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/Swatch-In-Talks-To-Make-TFL-Oyster-Watch : I bet the 'talks broke down')

    1. Dabooka

      Re: Swatch are in for a good shout

      Good bet seeing as it's from 2008!

      I thought I read tehy were dropping Oyster anyway, but a quick Google suggests I dreamt it

  11. RudeUnion

    Most likely it'll be a failure and no one will be talking about Swatch again. Prove me wrong and make a great product. We need great products for competition not just more of the same.

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