Although the Android Wear name might be dead, Google's Wear OS smartwatch platform is still chugging along mostly as a result of fashion and luxury brands like Kate Spade, Tag Heuer, and others. Hublot is the latest such company to jump into the Wear OS game, and it's doing so with a smartwatch that costs a whopping $5,200.
Hublot is a Swiss watchmaker that's been in business since 1980, and its parent company is LVMH — the same company that owns Tag Heuer. Hublot will only be making 2,018 units of its smartwatch, and should you be one of the lucky few to obtain one, you'll get a watch with a titanium body, six H-shaped screws along the bezel, and a real Kevlar insert. All of this is packed into a 49mm body, and as the name of the watch suggests, it's launching as part of a promotion with this year's World Cup.
All referees during the 2018 World Cup will be given Big Bang Referee 2018 World Cup Russia watches to wear, with Hublot noting that —
The referees' watches will be connected to goal-line technology, an electronic video assistance system for refereeing which follows all the trajectories of the ball and determines for certain if the ball did or did not entirely cross the goal line.
Along with this, the watch will also notify wearers of any matches 15 minutes before kickoff, whenever goals are made, player changes, and red/yellow cards. During a match, a special watch face will show the current score, the number of cards/goals, player substitutions, and the match time.
You'll be able to purchase the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia starting May 1, 2018 from Hublot shops, but considering its $5,200 price tag, I imagine this is something that only die-hard FIFA fans and watch-collectors will be genuinely interested in.
While we're on the subject, what's the most you'd ever spend for a smartwatch?
Android Wear needs way more than just a Wear OS rebrand
