TrustedReviews reports that Swatch CEO Nick Hayek made the comments to Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. The Swatch brand is known for its stylish, well-built mechanical watch designs, although it has been building more modern creations in recent months.
Those include a series of models equipped with curved touchscreens and an upcoming design to be launched for the 2016 Rio Olympics. It will feature NFC and support mobile payments, a key feature of the Apple Watch.
Hayek does not seem to think that smartwatches are the way forward though. He says that Swatch’s decision not to build “computers for the wrist” was a strategic one, calling out the Apple Watch’s inability to last more than a day on a battery charge.
Advocates of mechanical watches are likely to agree with Hayek’s argument. Hayek says that the Swatch Sistem 51, a watch movement with only 51 parts, one screw and no battery, is true innovation compared to Apple’s designs.
Swatch is committed to producing traditional watches with features with real-world benefits such as waterproofing and long-lasting batteries. Although the company is beginning to use modern design elements, some of which derive from smartwatches, Hayek seems to believe that “smart” does not need to mean “internet-connected”.
Since launch, the Apple Watch has sold millions of units to fans worldwide. It is thought that more were bought in the first three days of availability than the total sales of every previous smartwatch put together. Over just one day it sold more than Android Wear did in all of 2014.
The Apple Watch has certainly been a commercial success and it seems to have found favour with younger generations, a key part of Swatch’s target audience. Hayek seems insistent that we won’t be seeing a true “smart” Swatch design anytime soon though, implying Swiss design and true innovation are more important features for a watch than being able to see Facebook updates on your wrist.
