Louis Vuitton Group to Launch $1,400 Smartwatch in November

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE group’s subsidiary TAG Heuer will start selling a smartwatch for about $1,400 in October or November this year, becoming Apple’s biggest Swiss competitor for connected timepieces, Bloomberg reports. Jean-Claude Biver, the head of LVMH’s watchmaking activities, said that TAG Heuer’s smartwatch battery will last about 40 hours, as compared to the 18 hours average battery life of the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch “may get younger consumers more interested in wearing watches” for the first time, Biver highlighted in an interview. He also revealed that the company formed alliances with Google and Intel to develop the high-end smartwatch.

“I hope they (Apple) sell millions and millions and millions of them,” Biver said, speaking ahead of the official opening of a Hublot boutique in Dubai Mall. “The more they sell the more a few people will want something different and come to TAG Heuer.”

Apple is still struggling to keep up with the immense early demand for its first smartwatch, though it is working hard to increase supply, with many pre-orders shipping well ahead of their estimated delivery time.