Swiss Watchmaker Swatch to Launch Own Smartwatch in the Next Two to Three Months, To Compete With the Apple Watch

The Swatch Group AG, the Swiss maker of Tissot, Longines, Omega and of course Swatch watches announced plans to introduce a new smartwatch in the next two to three months. Industry observers say the timing of the release will likely coincide with the roll-out of Apple's much-anticipated Apple Watch this coming April.

A company spokesman, via CNET, in a press statement said: "Swatch will launch a new generation of its Swatch smartwatch in the next two to three months. Functions will include communication, mobile payments at stores such as Migros and Coop, and applications that work with Windows and Android -- without having to be charged. Separately, Swatch will present its new Swatch Touch at the end of the month." The upcoming Swatch smartwatch will furthermore be able to connect to the Internet "without having to be charged," Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek reportedly also told Bloomberg. Presumably, it will also incorporate the fitness tracking features that are now already seen in Swatch's Touch watches.

Coincidentally, Apple's watch also connects to the internet, pay-on-the-go using Apple Pay, track a user's fitness, send and receive messages, and work with interact with applications that run in iPhone, iPad and other Apple devices. However, unlike Swatch's purported upcoming new smartwatch, the Apple Watch will need to be charged using a magnetic connector, and Apple has not yet disclosed any information about the length of its battery life.

According to Tech Crunch, the technology needed for a self-charging watch is no longer new. Seiko has made a line called the Kinetic for decades utilizing a mechanical winder to charge a small battery, said the site. However, the energy generated, while adequate for tracking time on a small watch, may not be enough to run the color screen in a typical smartwatch that is unless Swatch has succeeded in making a momentous technological breakthrough on its own.