Luxury watchmaker Hublot is getting more serious about smartwatches. The company has unveiled a new watch aimed at soccer fans planning on keeping up with the upcoming World Cup in Russia — but perhaps more interesting is the fact that it’s the first Wear OS watch to be released since Google renamed Android Wear as Wear OS.
Hublot first conceived of the watch, which was announced at Baselworld 2018, when asked by FIFA to make a timepiece for referees to use on the pitch. It features a design similar to the company’s classic Big Bang, including a titanium body, a Kevlar insert, and a bezel that’s held in place with six H-shaped screws. Safe to say, it’s a pretty beautiful watch. The name of the device? The “Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.”
Of course, the watch isn’t just for referees. Soccer fans around the world may still get some good use from the device. Every time a goal is scored in the cup, the watch will vibrate and display the word GOAL, and during the match users will also get statistics like the score, the number of cards, and the names of those who have scored goals so far. You’ll also get match times and player substitutions. In case you’re planning on watching all the games, the watch will also send you a notification 15 minutes before each game. For the referees, the watch can even connect to the Goal Line Technology being used by FIFA to determine if the ball fully crossed the goal line.
Like Tag Heuer, Hublot’s sister brand, Hublot worked with both Intel and Google for the device — and as such it shares much of the technology you’ll find in the Tag Heuer Connected Watch. Unlike many Wear OS watches, which feature Qualcomm technology, the device boasts a dual-core Intel Atom Z34XX processor with a clock speed of 1.6GHz, with 512MB of RAM. The AMOLED display sits in at 400 x 400 pixels, with a pixel density of 287 pixels per inch. It has a 410mAh battery that’s rated to give you a day of use, plus it’s water-resistant to up to 50 meters.
You might be hard-pressed to get the watch for yourself — only 2,018 will be manufactured, and it will cost a cool $5,200. Safe to say, if all you want is a Wear OS watch, there are definitely more budget-friendly options.
