At a moment when it’s hard to be bullish about smartwatches, Swatch isn’t just embracing the category. It’s going all in.

Swatch, Switzerland’s biggest watchmaker, isn’t just planning to launch a smartwatch, the company is actually developing its own operating system in hopes of competing with the likes of Apple and Samsung (which uses a forked version of Tizen).

The news comes via an interview with Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, who stated, “there’s a possibility for wearables to develop as a consumer product, but you have to miniaturize and have an independent operating system.” The statement comes on the heel of Tag Heuer’s unveiling of a new super high-end modular timepiece.

But Tag’s product, while innovative (not to mention prohibitively expensive), was built around the latest version of Android Wear, a tact taken by fellow traditional timepiece maker Fossil for its umbrella of branded products. Swatch will be taking things into its own hands with a smart addition to its Tissot line due out sometime around the end of next year.
www.phoenixnewsonline.com/2017/03/17/swatch-working-smartwatch-os/