TAG Heuer's Connected Calibre E5 debuts TAG Heuer OS, built on Android and optimized for iPhone, ditching Wear OS, with Snapdragon 5100+ and up to 2 days.
© TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is walking away from Wear OS in favor of a homegrown system on its new Connected Calibre E5 smartwatches. After nearly a decade working with Google, the Swiss luxury watchmaker says it has built an interface entirely in-house to make navigation smoother and more intuitive. The new TAG Heuer OS is built on Android foundations but optimized for iOS — a pivotal shift for the brand.
The priority behind the platform switch is straightforward: improve compatibility with the iPhone. Wear OS has long struggled on Apple’s turf, with restricted access to notifications and no support for Bluetooth calls undercutting day-to-day use. Google has also effectively paused development of the Wear OS app for iOS, leaving it without updates for more than two years. By contrast, the Calibre E5 carries Apple’s Made for iPhone certification, a move that should translate into more reliable integration with iOS.
On the hardware side, the watch runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 5100 Plus. It isn’t the newest chip, but it’s a clear upgrade over the previous Wear 4100. Two case sizes — 40mm and 45mm — are available, joined by special New Balance and Golf editions. The company quotes up to two days of battery life; that figure is likely conservative and doesn’t account for an always-on display.
Pricing for the Connected Calibre E5 starts at $1,600 for the 40mm model and $1,700 for the 45mm, with special editions reaching up to $2,400. It reads as a calculated bid to cement TAG Heuer’s place in luxury smartwatches, marrying premium materials and design with a level of iPhone integration the brand hasn’t delivered before.