Swatch introduces new watch Operating System

Swatch takes on Giant with new watch OS

Swatch Group AG said it’s developing an alternative to the iOS and Android operating systems for smartwatches as Switzerland’s largest maker of timepieces vies with Silicon Valley for control of consumers’ wrists.

The company’s Tissot brand will introduce a model around the end of 2018 that uses the Swiss-made system, which will also be able to connect small objects and wearables, Swatch Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek said in an interview Thursday. The technology will need less battery power and it will protect data better, he said later at a press conference.

Hours after Swatch’s announcement, Richemont said it plans its first smartwatch, the Montblanc Summit, which will sell for $890 and up starting in May, using Android 2.0 technology. Competition from smartwatches has hurt low-end timepieces the most, and Hayek has been adding electronic functions into Swatch’s own less expensive brands such as Tissot and its namesake timepieces. This month, Swatch said it developed the world’s smallest Bluetooth chip for use in watches and household objects.

Swatch’s approach will work better because it’s trying to “think small” as one of the biggest problem for wearable devices is battery drainage, Hayek said, speaking at the Biel, Switzerland headquarters of Omega, another of 18 brands that Swatch produces.

Swatch is willing to supply third parties with the operating system, which has been developed with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, a university specialized in miniaturization, Hayek said. The company has received about 100 requests for more information, with half coming from smaller Silicon Valley companies that don’t want to be dependent on Android and iOS, he added.

 It also would have functions such as showing the weather and helping the wearer find lost keys.

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