Baselworld 2017, the largest annual wristwatch tradeshow kicked off last week in Basel, Switzerland. The event will last through March 30th and will be covered daily by Strategy Analytics' WDE (Wearables) service.
Our Day 2 coverage, on several key smartwatch & hybrid launches is available here, our Day 1 coverage here, and our Press Day coverage is available here.
Below are a few of our top picks on smartwatch announcements from Day 3:
- Casio has announced several hybrid smartwatches including a premium tier special edition Mr. G (MRGG2000HT-1A), hand-hammered by a third generation Japanese metal craftsman and coming in at US$ 7,400 retail. Lacking key sensors such as heart rate monitor and accelerometer/gyroscope, and also lacking Android Wear, the device syncs to a smartphone via Bluetooth for the sole purpose of syncing the time and location. We predict tiny volumes among fierce competition from modular concepts such as Tag Heuer’s Connected series even in the high tier.
Exhibit 1: Casio MRGG2000HT-1A
- Tommy Hilfiger launched the TH24/7 at Baselworld 2017. The device sports Android Wear 2.0, with advanced activity tracking and notification support and stylish design, but lacks a heart rate monitor and also lacks NFC which enables mobile payments. The TH24/7 is expected to hit the market in H2 2017 and will sell for US $300 retail.
Exhibit 2: Tommy Hilfiger TH24/7
- Hugo Boss, in their first Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch, is coming in slightly higher on the price curve (at US $395 retail), and is also including the NFC that Tommy Hilfiger is lacking. The number of fashion brands entering the smartwatch space continues to grow and expands the potential market away from purely tech/gadget focused consumers, and into traditional wristwatch and fashion consumers as well.
You can tune into our Wrap-up blog tomorrow and can find our first blog about our expectations for Baselworld 2017 here.