Android Wear goes upscale with watches from Fossil, Tag Heuer, more at Baselworld

Baselworld is here again, showcasing the world’s best and most fashionable watches and jewelry. In recent years, the annual trade show in Switzerland has somewhat turned into a tech event, largely due to the rise of smartwatches and wearable technology. This year, we could see some of the best new smartwatches debut at the show.

More: LG Watch Sport (Android Wear 2.0) review

Some of the companies expected to make waves at Baselworld include the likes of Michael Kors, Tag Heuer, Swatch, and Guess — and many of the devices released will come with Android Wear 2.0, Google’s smartwatch operating system, right out of the box. Here’s everything we expect to see at Baselworld 2017.

Kronaby

Kronaby isn’t expected to dive into Android Wear devices, as the company is better known for its hybrid devices — or watches that look like normal watches, but feature some sensors and trackers under the hood. In fact, Kronaby launched the Connected Movement line last month, which offers connectivity with both Android and iOS devices, as well as filtered notifications, music control, and more.

The range includes four models, including the sportier Apex, the classic-looking Sekel, the Nord, and the Carat. When it comes to pricing, the watches sit between 345 and 545 euros, or $370 to $585 U.S., and they’re currently available for pre-order. We’ll likely hear more about the availability of the watches at Baselworld.

Tag Heuer

Tag Heuer is a growing influence in the smartwatch world, and for good reason. Its latest launch is the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 — and it’s built for style. In fact, there are a hefty 500 different style possibilities you can get, thanks to a huge range of interchangeable parts available for the device.

The Connected Modular 45 was officially unveiled a week before Baselworld 2017, but we’re expecting to see the device on show at the event. Under the hood, the watch features Intel’s Atom processor. It connects via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC, and also runs Android Wear 2.0, the latest and greatest version of Google’s wearable OS. Last but not least, it has a 1.39-inch display and is water resistant.

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Movado

Movado is expected to be a huge player at Baselworld 2017. The company announced a few weeks ago that it would launch a slew of new Android Wear 2.0 watches under the Movado “Connect” line. There are a total of five watches in the lineup, with a starting price of $495 — although some of them will likely cost a lot more than that. The watches will be available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and the Caribbean.

Not much else is known about the watches just yet, except that they’ll feature “five unique customizable dials,” each of which will also have three to four customizable “complications” — or widgets that sit on the watch face. Movado also mentioned Android Pay compatibility — so the devices will likely feature an NFC chip.

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Fossil

Malarie Gokey/Digital Trends

Fossil hasn’t made any official announcements of any devices debuting at Baselworld, but considering the fact that the company aims to launch a massive 300 wearables in 2017 alone, we certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see a Fossil device or two at the show. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see non-Fossil-branded devices from the company thanks to the slew of companies that fall under the Fossil umbrella, including Diesel, Emporio Armani, Misfit, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, and so on.

Guess

Guess jumped the gun and announced its new range of smartwatches, the Guess Connect line, before the show officially kicked. These new watches are the result of a team-up with Google and Qualcomm — and the result is a range of high-spec Android Wear 2.0 devices with Qualcomm’s smarts under the hood.

More: Young, sexy, and adventurous? Guess says its new Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch is for you

There are two main versions of the Connect on offer, including a smaller 41mm version billed as being built for women, and a larger 44mm model. The models aren’t just different in size — they also feature various color and style options. The smaller device is available in silver, gold, or rose gold, and features crystals around the case. The larger watch, comes in both classic and sport styles. Both devices will have access to a range of custom watch faces.

We don’t yet know how much the watches will cost, but we’ll likely hear more about them during Baselworld 2017.

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Don’t expect to see any new smartwatches from Swarovski, even though the jewelry maker said it would unveil an Android Wear smartwatch “for her” at the show. Swarovski is reportedly indefinitely postponing the launch of the device because it’s “simply not ready yet.”

If you’re interested in keeping up with all the Baselworld 2017 news, follow @DigitalTrends and @DTMobile on Twitter. You can also follow Andy Boxall, our contributing editor, who will be on the ground at the show. Baselworld 2017 ruds from Thursday, March 23, to Thursday, March 30.