New TAG Heuer watch might be capable of switching from smart to mechanical

TAG Heuer is reportedly launching an Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch in which it’s not just the straps which are swappable, but the technology itself. According to speculation from Android Central, the TAG Connected Modular smartwatch would allow owners to swap the watch head for a mechanical variant on occasions when a more traditional setup is preferred to Android Wear.

This would be an interesting approach for an Android smartwatch, as manufacturers typically allow for their watches to be customized with wristbands and watch faces, but not by removing the “smart” aspect itself. However, it’s not clear if this would be an internal feature or would be achieved by replacing the watch face, though the “Modular” name would suggest the latter.

The TAG Connected Modular would succeed the $1,500 TAG Connected smartwatch which was released in November 2015. In a recent interview, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said that more smartwatches had been planned for release in May, after sales of the original achieved almost three times more than what the company expected. These watches would include brighter displays than the TAG Connected, and would come in different sizes.

Those devices are still expected to arrive, though Android Central‘s sources suggest that the all-new device will launch ahead of the others on March 14. Price and availability details haven’t yet been specified but I wouldn’t expect the TAG Connected Modular to come cheap.