Tag Heuer - Apple’s New Hire for iWatch Launch

It has been reported that Apple has hired the sales director from Swiss luxury watch maker TAG Heuer to help in promoting its forthcoming entry, iWatch which is expected to be launched soon.The Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is one of the various luxury brands which operated under LVMH, the multibillion mergers between Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton which are very popular.

The hiring has been confirmed by the head of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which owns TAG Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver, during his recent video interview conducted with the American television channel CNBC. He informed CNBC, that the watchmaker’s vice president for sales, Patrick Pruniaux, had left the previous week to take a contract with Apple to launch the iWatch.

A spokeswoman from TAG Heuer told Reuter that Pruniaux `was probably head hunted’, though Apple refrained from commenting on this issue. Pruniaux does not seem to be the first executive to be recently appointed by Apple from the luxury watch sector, Burberry ex-chief executive Angela Ahrendts had also started as its new head of retail and online sales in May with former head of French fashion brand, Yves Saint Laurent Paul Deneve who had been hired last year to work on special projects.

Apple’s Interest in Wearable Technology

The head of Atlas Wearable, Alex Hsieh, had left just last month to join Apple as a firmware developer and it is believed that Hsieh would be working closely with the iWatch team and likely to focus on activity tracking.

 Moreover, Apple has also sought the help of medical professional Michael O’Reilly who along with Apple operations executive, Jeff Williams, met the FDA regulators to seek help in obtaining approval on the iWatch before its launch.

The hiring points at Apple’s growing interest in the wearable technology industry which is expected to be worth $8.3 billion by 2018 and the company is rumoured to be competing with Samsung’s Galaxy Gear in developing an iWatch.

It is reported that the smartwatch will feature a curved touchscreen which will run on iOS, enabling it to get connected to iPhone and iPads, as per Japanese news service Nikkei.

iWatch – Apple’s First Newly Created Product beside iPad

Apple is expected to launch its first wearable at the Media event this October with signs that the device would be the iWatch. It is also presumed that the company would unveil the new iPhone, iPads and Macs during the fall season probably at standalone September and October events.

Eddy Cue, iTunes, chief, commented that Apple’s product pipeline seems to be the most exciting, he had seen in the past twenty five years. The wearable device would also have sensors for collection of health and fitness information like blood glucose levels as well as heart rate data for possible integration in the newly announced iOS 8 HealthKit.

Besides this, other rumours reveal that the iWatch could utilise the Touch ID technology which is already available within the iPhone 5s that will be paired up with third party health devices like the Nike FuelBand with a cost between $199 and $299. iWatch announcement would mark Apple’s first newly created product after the introduction of the2010 iPad

Is the iWatch in danger?

On the way Apple iWatch is struggling with problems. MacRumours reported that the screen of the smart clock consumes too much power. Therefore Apple is thinking about better alternatives. Furthermore, they have stopped a prototype test.

t is most likely to hurt Apple since Bryan James left the company. James was worked on the iPod project and he was also a part of the iWatch teams. Now he moved to Nest Labs. Despite the setbacks, the team is still large enough, Apple could meet the schedule. Rumors predict that it may be released on or before the end of 2014.

First rumors to iWatch came on in December 2012. The Chinese blog TGBUS reported, citing informants, it shed more light that Apple is working together with Intel on a smart watch. The gadget should have a 1.5 -inch OLED display and connect via Bluetooth with mobile devices. A report published in February 2013 patent application from 2011 also includes plans for devices with flexible screen and a solar cell as an energy source. IOS operating system is to be used.

 How serious Apple in a project is reflected with the number of employees working in a particular project. Both the Financial Times and Bloomberg said that Apple staff for the iWatch increased massively. Over one hundred developers and designers should take forward the work on the smart clock. A first version was tested already tested by Apple according to a report in the New York

Times in February 2013. Analysts hold a launch in 2014 may be realistic. As the Guardian reported, also the production contract for the SmartWatch has already been awarded to the The Taiwanese Company Quanta and Inventec making the smart clock in 60:40 ratios. According to Angela McIntyre from market research firm Gartner the starting price of Smartwatch may be around 149-199 U.S. dollars.