Connected Modular 45 vs. OG Connected

dc42

Had mine on all day yesterday. Sat on the side overnight. Just checked, it has 13% left.

Hubert

Since its inception, I have been a big fan of the TAG Heuer Connected watch. In fact, I purchased my OG Connected back in November 2015, the same day it was introduced in New York by JCB. Despite its considerable higher price (when compared to other Android Wear watches), this was a big gamble for TAG Heuer, in terms of public perception and reputation; thankfully this bet proved to be a huge success, far surpassing all initial forecasts and sales targets.

Now, just a week before the year’s main event at Baselworld 2017, TAG Heuer has given us its second generation "luxury smart watch" offering, the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45.

A lot is riding on the success of this sequel and JCB has not shied away from pointing this out. This is reflected by the noticeable improvements of the watch itself, the sizeable investment TAG Heuer has made in Switzerland in order to be able to give us its first “Swiss made” Connected offering, and the 15,000 units for sale around the world.

If you are an OG TAG Heuer Connected owner like me, you might be wondering how they compare and if it’s worth upgrading.

Since TAG Heuer has announced the OG Connected will get the "same features" (meaning the same version of Android Wear 2.0), I will not focus on the "factory software" aspect. But what is certain is that the improved specs of the electronic components, do make a noticeable difference.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so let's try to make the case this way.

Here are the watches side-by-side, the new Connected Modular 45 on the left (still with its protective plastics), and the OG Connected on the right. The pictures are unaltered, so that we can evaluate their "natural" appearance.

Immediately when you take it out of its new and improved box, you'll notice how the quality and finish is a step above.

The bezel now looks much more like a luxury watch. The original bezel had much to improve.

The brushed titanium finish is far superior.

The clasp was also redesigned to have a quick deploy mechanism for the "modular" exchanges.

The case itself is now fully metallic; a vast improvement compared to the OG's plastics.

The "deep black" of the new display is visibly apparent, even when its off.

As most you know, I am a huge fan of the WatchMaker app, so here's are some comparisons to showcase the quality of the new display.

The "ambient mode" improvement is astonishing.

On the wrist.

The new Connected Modular 45 is the clear winner over the OG model, and for me it's well worth the price of admission, even if it's just to gain the new display and full metallic case. I just wish that TAG Heuer would have offered OG owners an upgrade path to the new model, instead of just the Calibre 5 Exchange watch. One can just hope that additional mechanical choices will be offered in the future. I certainly would "upgrade" my OG to a chronograph, if that option were to be offered once the 2-year warranty period expires.

rockstar0815

Hello to all,

after reading alot in this forum for the last weeks, I finally signed up as I managed to purchase an OG 46 Connected new from a Tag Heuer boutique in the Netherlands.

Why the 46 and not the 45? Well, first, I wanted to have the exact model that started the 'hype' of luxury smartwatches. I had a lot of smartwatches over the years (may be 10 in total, from Samsungs Gear 2, to Apple Watch, Moto360, Fossil Q Explorist). A connected watch from Tag is on another level of prestige and I treat it like a gem (the others: not so much). Having the model Tag produced to enter a new market feels special to me.

Second and most important: I wonder why this wasn't discussed in the forum so far, but for me the ingenious trick of the OG 46 is its transreflective display.

Sure, it costs some contrast and the screen doesn't 'pop' like the modular 45's one, but it makes the watch a watch: you can read it in sunlight. The more sunlight, the better it can be seen.

The Fossil has the same display as the 45 in terms of resolution, size and OLED. Outside on a sunny day: good luck reading it with ambient mode on.

I imagine it will be the same with the 45, so I wanted to ask: how do the ones that have booth Connected versions feel about this?

Best,
Andy

huecobros

The Connected 45 and 41 look like good enough watches, the improvements do look nice. But having to charge a watch every day turns me off from seeing these watches as anything but a novelty or a toy. Most of us carry our cellphones everywhere we go so i don't think about reading or email from a watch, much less answering calls.