Bloomberg: Swatch Smartwatch Coming Soon

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Swatch plans to launch a smartwatch within the next 3 months Bloomberg reports, meaning the near future will see the Swiss watchmaker duke it out against the arguable big boss of all smartwatches, the Apple Watch.

Smart watchesIn an interview Swatch CEO Nick Hayek says the Swatch smartwatch (SmartSwatch?) will rival the Apple Watch in more than its simply being part of the device category-- it also features an NFC-based mobile payments, one the watchmaker is in talks about with as yet unnamed retailers. The device will be Android- and Windows-compatible and "won't have to be charged," a possible dig against the Apple Watch's reportedly short battery life.

Swatch owns a number of patents covering watch-related technologies, including long-lasting, bendable batteries, displays and sensors, which Hayek says will find use in “numerous innovative project launches in all segments."

Hayek is a long-time skeptic towards smartwatches, telling Handelsblatt the Apple Watch "would not have happened under Steve Jobs" earlier last year.

"All these smartwatches will not revolutionise our industry" the CEO said in the December 2014, before adding smartwatches will actually prove a boon to watchmakers as "many customers will eventually buy a real watch." Will the Swatch smartwatch lead to, err, such an outcome, we wonder?

Go Swatch Plans Smartwatch to Compete with Apple Watch's Debut (Bloomberg)

Go Swatch Takes Swipe at Apple Watch