What do you get the Mario fan that has everything? Well, if your budget runs well into four figures, then Tag Heuer has an answer for you: a $2150 (~£1550) smartwatch inspired by the platforming plumber himself.
While the Tag Heuer website still has a ‘coming soon’ page with a clock counting down the minutes and seconds to its July 15 release date, both TechCrunch and Engadget have all the key information about the pricey wearable.
In short, it seems to be a reskinned version of the Tag Heuer Connected 3 smartwatch, which launched last April at a similarly intimidating price point. Like that wearable, this will run Wear OS, but is considerably more limited with only 2000 units reportedly being produced.
Other than certain elements of the design that reference Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom – such as a small M embedded on the crown and a red rubber strap (with alternative black leather band included for variety) – most of the Nintendo themed additions occur on the software itself.
Engadget quotes Tag Heuer as saying that Mario’s “upbeat and active personality will encourage wearers of this smartwatch to enjoy moving too,” with animations featuring the super mushroom, pipe, star and goal pole congratulating you at each point on your way to reaching a daily step target. The watch face will also get “livelier and more animated the more the wearer is active.”
There are four watch faces included, all suitably themed on the Mushroom Kingdom. The most charming sounding of these uses “retro elements from the 1985 version of Super Mario Bros. with Mario all in pixels.”
It’s a cute set of features, but the price will certainly keep it off the wrist of all but the most dedicated and wealthy of Mario fans. After all, for the price of just one Mario themed Wear OS smartwatch, you could pre-order six Nintendo OLED Switch devices, and still have enough change left over for a game to share between them.
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Still, if you’re uninspired by the options available in our list of the best smartwatches you can buy, purchasing one of these will certainly make you stand out from the crowd. And given its limited edition status, it’s possible that unlike most smartwatches, its value will actually increase over time…
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
