The new TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 swerves away from Google’s Wear OS and moves to TAG Heuer OS, a skin riding on Android’s open-source underpinnings.
Pictured left to right:
- Silver with black rubber strap
- Brown leather strap
- Chrome steel bracelet
Red with red motif, an avant-garde “dashboard” look.
The payback is simple but strategic: now, the luxury smartwatch natively pairs with iPhones running iOS 18 and up as well as Android 13 or higher.
Why TAG Heuer Ditched Wear OS for Its Connected E5
Wear OS has generally provided patchy performance when paired with iPhones, in some cases restricting the messaging and app interaction a user can experience on their iPhone. By seizing control of its own software stack, TAG Heuer can ensure tighter, more predictable cross-platform behavior for iPhone-using buyers like us—fat’n’furry fish in a barrel for TAG—given that Apple has been a years-long leader of the global smartwatch market by shipments, according to Counterpoint Research.
And this move falls in line with a larger luxury-tech trend: high-end labels focusing on curated experiences rather than app-store real estate. TAG Heuer, having its own OS, can position itself as a choice design-wise with fancy watch faces and hardware materials, but not inherit every hairy problem from a third-party platform to an inordinate degree. The trade-off, of course, is fewer third-party apps than you’d get on a Wear OS watch, a concession anyone who has ever worn boutique or fitness-first wearables from brands like Garmin or Whoop will be used to.
What The New Software Can (And Cannot) Do
TAG Heuer OS does the key smartwatch stuff: calls, notifications and music controls, as well as built-in fitness and GPS. On iPhone, the features are rock solid, notably pairing and alerts; but don’t expect deep iMessage integration or any of the system-level stuff that’s Apple Watch territory. That’s an iOS limitation rather than a TAG Heuer failing. And with no Google Play on board, you presumably won’t be loading a long tail of third-party apps onto it; the point is polished essentials, not maximalist versatility.
The upside is control. A proprietary stack allows TAG Heuer to optimize animations, battery consumption and how often updates should be delivered. On the luxury side, where buyers appreciate feel as much as feature lists, this kind of consistency can matter more than whether your watch runs a dozen niche apps.
Design Sizes and Hardware Details for Connected E5
The Connected Calibre E5 has 40mm and 45mm case options, along with steel and titanium versions. It also supports a wide range of straps.
TAG Heuer maintains a similar pixel density of 326 ppi across the board, too: the 40mm size houses a 1.2-inch 390-by-390 display, while the bigger watch packs in a slightly larger 1.39-inch screen at a resolution of 454 by 454 pixels. The brand’s watchmaking DNA is evident in the finishing and modularity; it feels like the physical product of mechanical luxury first, smartwatch second.
There’s also a New Balance collaboration focused on runners who are looking for performance with upscale looks. That version pairs black titanium with a blue textile-style strap, and sports subdued branding, signaling that this is not just a gym-only accessory; it’s designed to look intentional with streetwear or even beneath the cuff of a tailored jacket.
Battery, Charging, and Performance Expectations
It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 5100+ platform and offers GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The 40mm edition, TAG Heuer says, will survive a day and a half before needing to juice back up after about 90 minutes on the charger, while the larger watch again exceeds it—bigger battery life—by maybe tripling that, with an even shorter top-up time estimate of, near as makes no difference, half an hour. Real-life endurance will vary, as it always does, depending on how bright the display is and how much you use it to track workouts and GPS, but those figures suggest TAG Heuer’s been terrorizing its software staff for efficient returns.
Pricing And Positioning In The Luxury Set
Like the Connected series before it, pricing plants the E5 firmly into luxury territory. The 40mm has a beginning price of around $1,600 and rises to about $2,050, while the 45mm’s base cost is from approximately $1,700 to up to $2,400, depending on material and configuration. That pits it against high-end smart and sport watches like Garmin’s Marq line, or premium editions from Swiss rivals, not forgetting the mainstream flagships like the Apple Watch Ultra.
The question luxury buyers ask is not “How many apps?” but “Does it feel special?” IDC and Counterpoint Research have recently reported on how strongly Apple leads in shipments, while Garmin is dominant with a higher average selling price, detaching itself for fitness-first devices. TAG Heuer does something rather different, and possibly for another kind of customer altogether: a client who is seeking the finish, brand cachet and boutique experience of a Swiss maison but with just enough smart features to act as an accompaniment to the sort of phone you’d be carrying now—yes, including an iPhone.
What the Switch Means for Current iPhone Owners
For iPhone users who never even looked at TAG Heuer’s prior Wear OS watches, the Connected Calibre E5 is the first viable invitation. You’re trading diversity of apps for unity and quality, but in return you get a pretty polished smartwatch that plays nicely with iOS without making you switch ecosystems. If you value luxury and dependability over tinkering and app hunting, this shift away from Wear OS to TAG Heuer OS could be just the point.
