Swatch plans to develop its own smartwatch operating system

Face of the Tissot Smart-Touch, the brand’s first take on smartwatches (Image from ablogtowatch.com)

Some traditional watchmakers have taken it upon themselves to team up with the likes of Google to release smartwatches. Swatch Group is taking a different approach and plans to develop its own operating system to rival existing smartwatch OSes. The first product to introduce the new OS will be through its Tissot brand and is set to come out at the end of 2018. According to Swatch’s CEO Nick Hayek, this operating system will be able to connect to small objects and wearables. He also promises better battery life and data protection. The improved battery is something Swatch wants to emphasize, especially when compared against what’s out there now.

While it’s not known how the public will react to an entirely new OS, it might be an uphill battle for Swatch as it could take some convincing for developers to create apps for another system. One thing Swatch is open to is supply third-party companies with the OS it co-developed with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology. Hayek says they’ve received around 100 requests for more information with half of these coming from smaller Silicon Valley companies who don’t want to rely on iOS or Android.

Source: Bloomberg