When TAG Heuer announced a $2,150 Super Mario smartwatch I imagine it might have been easy to consider it a marketing stunt. Perhaps even a gimmick.
But I was interested, and even if I had the money, I’ve lost the chance as the connected device sold out in less than minutes. Furthermore, Hypebeast has calculated this Mario as one of TAG Heuer’s most successful launched.
I like my Huawei watch, but it’s ageing, fading, and I can’t even buy it from Huawei anymore. What looked like a potential fumble in the tech market, the connected watch may have been a slow burner. It’s just that we don’t need new watches very often.
A look on eBay shows what you would expect when a collectable has been more popular than predicted. Skelpers are making a killing; this listing is offering one of the watches, and the current bid is £3,300 (about $4,550) that’s nothing compared to this $50,000 offer for one!
This limited edition watch simply uses Mario to mark milestones throughout the day, plus whatever Wear OS features are left in. TAG Heuer confirms Google Calendar, Gmail, Weather and standard notifications. Wear OS is compatible with iPhones.
However, I can’t see from TAG’s website how the watch recharges. Is it pins on the back and a nightly alignment with a charger? I hope not. I think we should be safely into the realm of wireless charging.
Looking around at watch specialists like Jura Watches and WatchFinder, high-end retailers like Rox, and tech cool sites like Uncrate, I find plenty of TAG watches but few connected ones. Perhaps Mario’s success was a one-off?
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