Swatch plans multiple smartwatches, but they”ll be simple

After unveiling what is dubbed by Business Insider’s Matthew DeBord as “the coolest $150 watch in the world” which is the Sistem51 o, Swatch intends to beef up its smartwatch line according to the company’s CEO, Nicolas Hayekin in an published interview with Tages-Anzeige newspaper on Saturday.

The chief executive of watchmaking corporation Swatch has dismissed the Apple Watch as an “interesting toy”, as he set out the company’s smartwatch plans.

Swatch will release single feature smartwatches and not a full featured smartwatch like Apple and Samsung.

The company’s strategy is mainly concentrated to include individual tech features in different models of smartwatches. In other words, Swatch isn’t treating these devices as exceptions or one-off experiments, like some other Swiss watchmakers.

Hayek told the paper that Swatch would launch Touch Zero Two at 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

On top of its Touch Zero One, which can track the distance the wearer travels and help beach volleyball players measure the power of their hits, Swatch is planning to launch watches with an embedded “near field communication” chip this year.

Hayek Jr said that TAG Heuer’s partnership with Google and Intel for a smartwatch was a “a mystery to me” and that he regrets “that for a company with a long Swiss tradition, TAG-Heuer owner LVMH is apparently not willing to invest in Switzerland in the work place”. Instead, you’re more likely to see simple, focused devices that just happen to do more than tell the time.