HP Unveils Engineered By HP Smartwatch Platform With Movado Group Brands In Rollout Partnership

HP is expanding its portfolio of wearable products by teaming up with Movado Group to release a line of high-end analog smartwatches. These luxury watches will make use of the former's Engineered by HP smart platform and will span the latter's licensed watch brand portfolio, including Coach, HUGO BOSS, Juicy Couture, Tommy Hilfiger, and Scuderia Ferrari.

You might not be aware, but HP has a small Wearables division. It currently offers just a small handful of products, among them a Movado BOLD Motion line that starts at $695 and a couple of $100 MISFIT Shine Sleep/Activity Monitors, to name about half of its wearable portfolio. This latest effort will see HP's smart platform paired with several fashionable brands with pricing that's competitive with Apple's smartwatch line.

HP Smartwatches

"Customers want smart accessories that make everyday tasks easier and allow them to stay connected without forcing them to compromise on style," said Bill Geiser, Head of Wearables at HP Inc. "Engineered by HP enables top fashion labels to maintain their brand’s design aesthetic and still support the digital essentials that make a smart watch experience compelling."

HP's smartwatches support both iOS and Android. Each one has a mix of features accessible through hidden OLED displays or LED patterns in unison with haptic vibration to alert owners of incoming calls, texts, emails, and so forth.

These are water-resistant wearables, so no worries of a little bit of rain ruining your day. HP claims up to five days of battery life for connected features, with analog watch movements being powered by a separate battery. Activity tracking will be part of the experience, and a world clock that displays multiple time zones will be available on most styles.

Pricing breaks down as follows:
  • BOSS Classic Smartwatch: $295 & $325
  • Coach Bleecker Smart: $295
  • Couture Connect: $295
  • Scuderia XX Ultraveloce: $295
  • Tommy Hilfiger TH 24/7: $195 & $225
The new watches will be available starting October 27, 2016.