Movado to unveil Android-powered 'Connect' smartwatch collection at Baselworld

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Mar 8, 2017

Movado is building on its vast wearables collection with Movado Connect, a new Android Wear 2.0-powered smartwatch made in partnership with Google. The collection will be unveiled at Baselworld 2017 taking place in Basel, Switzerland March 23-30.

 
Movado Connect is one of the first watches designed specifically for Android Wear 2.0. The collection is comprised of five men’s styles that feature customizable dials inspired by Movado’s Museum dial, access to thousands of apps including Android Pay, and Google Assistant. Movado Connect will also be iOS and Android compatible. Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, two brands in the Movado portfolio, are also partnering with Google.
 
"We are thrilled to partner with Movado, a longtime leader and one of the most iconic brands in the watch industry," said David Singleton, Vice President of Android Engineering at Google. "With our combined expertise in watchmaking, design and software, we are able to create a beautiful yet functional timepiece that helps people live their everyday lives."

Google initially planned to launch Android Wear 2.0 in the fall, but it pushed the release to early 2017 in order to have more time to properly assess feedback and tweak the software.
 
Movado has increased its smartwatch offering since 2016, partnering with companies such as HP and Fullpower Technologies. The company introduced new smartwatches for Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Juicy Couture, Tommy Hilfiger and Scuderia Ferrari at Baselworld 2016, and announced in November a partnership with Rebecca Minkoff to launch women’s and men’s smartwatches in summer 2017.

The watchmaker has stiff competition in Apple, with the Apple Watch that accounted for 80% of smartwatch market revenue in 2016, Fossil and recent market entry Armani that debuted smartwatches for Emporia Armani and Armani Exchange.
 
The Movado Connect smartwatch collection will launch in fall 2017 in the US, Canada, UK and the Caribbean, and prices will start at $495.