Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has combined three of its passions – state-of-the-art innovation, elegant design, and sport – to create a luxury timepiece full of smartwatch tech with the look and feel of a traditional timepiece. Now that is smart.

When Tag Heuer decided to launch the third generation of its Connected smartwatch (the first was in 2016), it came at a time when the idea of connectivity was more important than ever.

The Tag Heuer Connected Watch is armed with Wear OS by Google software, can do all the stuff you’d expect in terms of messaging and emails. And it also runs Google Assistant and Google Translate (using a built-in microphone); plus you can employ Google Pay, control music, manage an agenda, see weather details and maps, and use Google Play and its apps.

Designed and developed entirely by its in-house team, Tag Heuer has built on the success of the Connected and introduced the new Golf Edition – for passionate golfers who want to take their sport to the next level. The Golf app, developed by the watchmaker in 2019, delivers a custom-designed digital experience enabling insights into personal performance, recording shot distances and scores, and also can display 99 per cent of golf courses around the world (40,000 maps) with a precise 3D mapping technology and regular updates.

Frédéric Arnault, Tag Heuer’s new CEO, who piloted the whole design phase of the new Connected series, describes how the Golf timepiece has a further reach: ‘Marrying form and function in a brand new way, it offers a smooth, easy-to-use and performance-oriented digital experience not only for golf, but many sports and everyday activities as well. Every detail has been purposefully engineered to help refine the player’s strategy, improve their accuracy and remove the guesswork so they can focus on enjoying the game, without compromising on elegance and style.’

That’s the intelligence of the Connected range: it works for those watch enthusiasts who want smartwatch tech but also desire the beauty and feel of a mechanical watch on their wrist. What they will get with the new Golf Edition is an ultra lightweight black 45mm titanium case reminiscent of Tag’s 1963-designed Carrera chronograph. The matte black ceramic bezel features 18 engraved and lacquered graduations, referencing performance at each hole, while the white lacquer on the rotating crown and green lacquer on the pushers reflect the lush verdant course. The pushers have a dedicated usage for the Tag Heuer Golf app, in addition to other functionalities within the digital experience, used to record shots and shot distances with optimal precision in action – an innovation that can be added to Tag Heuer’s heritage of sports performance measurement.

In other words, the Golf Edition is just what is needed for a truly connected, active lifestyle: handsome functionality. To a tee.

£2,100; tagheuer.com