Skip to main content

HP partners with Movado to launch new line of connected smartwatches

HP is no stranger to connected wristwear. Just last year, the company teamed up with luxury Swiss watchmaker Movado to launch its “Engineered by HP” initiative in the form of the Motion and Bold Motion, two high-end smartwatches that use a combination of LEDs, sensors, and a vibration motor and processor to deliver notifications from a paired smartphone. And at an event in New York City on Wednesday, the company announced the expansion of that partnership: It will soon launch Movado-licensed wearables that blend HP’s tech with the stylistic sensibilities of fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, and Hugo Boss.

Movado is making the watches, and HP is supplying the technical expertise. “Customers want smart accessories that make everyday tasks easier and allow them to stay connected without forcing them to compromise on style,” Bill Gesier, HP’s general manager of wearables and platforms, said in a statement.

Recommended Videos

“Engineered by HP enables top fashion labels to keep their brand’s design aesthetic and still support the digital essentials that make a smartwatch experience compelling.”

dsc_0520jpg
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There is a wide variety of smartwatches from which to chose — more than 25 different models at launch, HP said — and no two look the same. The Juicy Couture variant is, as might be expected from a brand that celebrates “glamour” and “style,” appropriately chic. It’s adorned with glossy gold paneling, sparkly gems at each tick marks, and a plastic, pink, illuminated gemstone. The Tommy Hilfiger model, meanwhile, is decidedly more masculine, sporting a large LED display, angular steel rim, and aggressively bold, white numerals. But there’s a constant among them: none of the watches bore the hallmark signs of silicon.

Unlike, say, the Apple Watch, HP and Movado have concertedly favored fashion over connectivity. In fact, the wearables are notable for what they lack: a heart rate monitor, a blood oxygen-measuring pulse oximeter, and even a speaker, microphone, Wi-Fi, and cellular capabilities. The effect is more bespoke accessory that internet-connected gadget, but given the targeted clientele, here — i.e., folks interested in a watch with a smidgen of technology rather than technology that also tells the time — that’s perhaps a wise strategy.

Despite the collection’s aesthetic diversity, each watch functions remarkably similarly. Each notifies of upcoming calendar appointments, incoming calls, text messages, emails, and social media updates. Watches with digital displays, such as the Tommy Hilfiger model, show the first few lines of incoming messages, caller ID, and multiple time zones. But all share the same smartphone companion app, and one that covers all wearable bases. There’s fitness tracking in the form of step counting by day, week, and month, a notification screen that lets you enable and edit individual settings (you can turn off all calls alerts, for example, or every messaging notification), and a world clock screen that allows you to edit locales and time zones. And there’s a shop for accessories.

dsc_0502jpg
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Under the hood is HP’s proprietary mix of silicon. Inside’s a traditional coin-sized battery that powers the watches’ timekeeping machinery, but there’s also a long-lasting Lithium-ion pack that lasts “at least” up to five days on a charge, HP said. There’s electronic smarts enough for more, too: HP said brands can enable features on a per-watch basis. Last year’s Movado Bold Motion, for instance, tracks sleep cycles and can wake you up gradually

Watches from Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Coach, Juicy Couture, and Cuderia Ferrari will debut on Amazon, at brick-and-mortar Dillard’s locations, and on the respective brands’ websites. They’ll ultimately range in price from $195 to $325, and will be compatible with iPhone and Android devices running iOS 8.0 and Android 4.4 or higher, respectively.

dsc_0533jpg
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We value our relationships with Movado Group and look forward to continuing to expand our Engineered by HP platform through the Movado rand portfolio,” Gesier said. “Our legacy of innovation is helping fashion-forward brand brands infuse technology into their designs to give consumer the stylish timepieces they want, but that are more connected and responsive to the way they live today.”

Kyle Wiggers
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
The Pixel Watch 2 just got a feature it should have launched with
The Google Pixel Watch 2 resting on a stone fireplace.

Google has heard everyone’s demands and has given in to a highly requested feature that should have already been a thing with the Google Pixel Watch 2: a fully charged notification. Yes, that’s right — you’ll now get a notification on your Android phone when your Pixel Watch 2 is fully charged. Hallelujah!

This new feature should be available starting today via the Pixel Watch app on version 2.1.0.576785526. Google did not formally announce this feature, so it seems to be rolled out quietly (and was first spotted by Android Authority).

Read more
The most innovative smartwatches and wearables of 2022
Apple Watch Ultra, purple background

If there’s one piece of tech that can really change lives, that’s definitely the smartwatch. Though fitness and activity trackers have existed since the 1960s, the smartwatch took things a step further by adding extra features that make life easier — and they can literally save your life. There were many great smartwatch and wearable releases in 2022, and although most of them may have been incremental updates, a few of them truly stand out from the crowd.

Want to see the rest? Check out our full list of the most innovative tech products of 2022!
Winner: Apple Watch Ultra

Read more
A new affordable Motorola smartwatch could be coming by the end of the year
Moto 360 ambient display

A new Motorola-branded smartwatch is on its way for a launch by the end of the year, according to a press release shared by CE Brands, the current owners of the Motorola brand for smartwatches. The company has claimed to have already completed work on a Moto Watch 100, branding it an affordable premium smartwatch that will be going into mass production over the next month.

"Our newest smartwatch, the Moto Watch 100, which is designed for an entry-level price point, is scheduled to begin mass production in November 2021. With several major retailers in line for initial orders to test the product, we believe the Motorola brand coupled with an affordable premium-feeling smartwatch has the potential to be a truly disruptive product," the release reads.

Read more