This week, TAG Heuer announced a fifth generation in its Connected watch line, a collection of smart watches that lean more towards traditional watch form factors than most. It is an attempt to appease the modern watch enthusiast while offering the conveniences brought through connected features, most notably health tracking and phone connectivity. That does mean, though, that the previous generation did tend to fall somewhere in a no-man’s land where watch enthusiasts would most likely still prefer a watch, while those seeking smart features opted for more mainstream offerings from tech-focused companies. This new generation, though, is a true generational leap for TAG Heuer Connected. It brings about many meaningful improvements that might make you reconsider your next connected watch purchase. I was able to spend a bit of hands-on time with each version, cycling through the operating system to speak on it here.
Looking first at the case, TAG Heuer is now offering the Connected Calibre E5 in two diameters, the standard 45 millimeter and a new 40 millimeter version. For those scoffing at the 45mm diameter, the Apple Watch SE comes in either a 40 or 44mm case for a frame of reference. At launch, seven standard versions are available between the two sizes, with one separate collaboration special edition. The 45mm case is offered in a mix of stainless steel with ceramic bezels or an all black DLC-coated titanium if you are looking for the full stealth approach. In the 40 mm case diameter, customers can choose between polished stainless steel or a rose gold PVD-coated version aimed at elevating the smaller offering for women. All versions come on a myriad of quick-changing strap options, allowing you to easily choose between the bracelet, a very comfortable rubber that can offer a pop of color, or the new velcro for a very secure fit for better health tracking and an even lighter wearing experience.
Powering this generation of Connected is a brand new operating system developed in-house, TAG Heuer OS. It is a proprietary user experience and interface made to better align TAG Heuer’s pursuit of specific sports and better phone integration across the entire suite of flagship phones. New this year, connectivity has been improved, reducing pairing times and featuring full MFi (Made for iPhone) certification to ensure compatibility with iPhone devices, something that had been sorely missed. With this new OS comes a new interface that improves legibility, offers cleaner visual organization, customizable widgets, voice call support, voice assist, a new wellness activity app, a dedicated heart rate app, sleep functionality, and activity programs for golf and running. Easily operated through either the touch screen or a combination of the pushers and scrolling crown, the user interface is easily navigable and oddly intuitive despite appearing more unique in design. It can take a bit of trial and error at first to find your way through the menu, accidentally changing through the hundreds of different dial options rather than finding your heart rate, before the controls start to click and really become quite easy to transition between menus.
Rather than tackling broad market trends to appease the masses, TAG Heuer has opted to really hone in on three main categories that they believe their core customers will appreciate: the aforementioned health tracking, running, and golf. In a notable announcement earlier this year, TAG Heuer launched a partnership to become the official timekeeper of the 2025 New York City Marathon, which should signify its commitment to running. If that wasn’t enough, in tandem with the Connected E5 launch, a special edition collaboration was also revealed with New Balance, perhaps best known for its production of running shoes, including the new collaboration model of the New Balance FuelCell SC Elite v5. The integrated Wellness Activity app is built to offer a clear and very engaging way to both help monitor daily movement, caloric burn, step counting, and activity time, with some interesting features aimed more at motivation. Similar to activity rings, daily and weekly visuals give the wearer a simple visual guide to help improve performance and maintain routines, with the option of goal setting to add in elements of motivation. Later this year, TAG Heuer will be introducing sleep phases, blood-oxygen saturation, breathing rate, and heart-rate variability to better help with wellness tracking and improved feedback. Though not mentioned in the standard launch, but later added into the special edition New Balance edition, TAG Heuer has also introduced a running coach with pre-loaded training plans to help runners with on-wrist guidance, gamified prompts, and phone-free training. This is an exciting announcement for those who have felt frustrated with the Nike Run Club app.
The other primary focus brings some awe-inspiring features to the golf course. Of course, there is a golf edition with special bezel markers and a golf ball-themed strap, but the primary collection brings some impressive tech to help you track and improve your game on over 40,000 mapped courses. The new course map display shows full hole layouts with an auto-zoom feature that advances as you go down the fairway, or into the rough, in my case. It also features auto-scoring, very impressive swing detection based on feedback, range finding, and course reading. While previous versions of golf tracking and integration were certainly impressive, this new redesign takes things to the next level. I can not claim to be a golfer despite enjoying the occasional round of frustrating weed whacking, but I would love the opportunity to wow every single other golfer on the course with everything the new TAG Heuer OS can do.
While the competition in the connected category is stiff, TAG Heuer has done a lot to make the latest E5 more competitive than ever. It retains a similar refined case as previous iterations, with more options and new functions, and a new size that breaks the mold of other square or round competitors for those who hate the look of other smart watches. Notably, this new operating system brings new features and a new display to the platform while giving TAG Heuer the ability to iterate continuously on the system without worrying about outside interference. Its new strap changing system allows you to easily change the look and feel of the watch to exactly how you want it when you want it on the fly, which may be important to those looking to wear the watch while training before transitioning into the office. The price remains a hurdle, though it is important to call out that it is less of a hurdle than before. Ranging from $1,600 to $2,400, depending on your personal preference, the Calibre E5 will still push above most connected watches on the market, but surprisingly comes in at roughly $400 less than its predecessor despite its many upgrades. If you want to learn more about the latest TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 collection, you can do so here.
Devin Pennypacker
2025-10-09 16:00:00