Hublot intros $5,200 Wear OS smartwatch that'll be worn by World Cup referees

Another luxury watch brand is getting into the smartwatch game.

Hublot has announced a new, limited edition smartwatch powered by Google's Wear OS platform. The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia is a new smartwatch that'll be worn by FIFA referees during this year's World Cup in Russia. Hublot says that it was asked by FIFA to craft "the perfect watch" for its referees, and this is what the company came up with.

The Hublot Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia features a 49mm case made of titanium. It's got a 400x400 AMOLED display along with an accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone, haptic motor, and GPS, and its battery is rated to last "around 1 day" on a single charge. It's also water resistant up to 50 meters.

On the software side, Hublot has added some special World Cup-specific features for soccer/football fans. There are special dials with the colors of the nations competing in the World Cup, and the watch can send you a notification 15 minutes before a new match starts. It'll also alert you to yellow and red cards, and player changes. And when a goal is scored, the word "GOAL" will appear instantly. The dial can also show match stats when a game is being played.

As with other Wear OS smartwatches, Hublot's model is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.4 and up as well as iOS 9 and up.

Hublot says that this watch will be limited to 2,018 units and will go on sale in Hublot stores around the world on March 1. Pricing will be set at 5,000 Swiss francs ($5,268 USD).

This isn't the first luxury smartwatch we've seen, or even the most expensive smartwatch we've ever seen. It is notable because it's another luxury smartwatch option for people interested in those devices, though, and while some of us can't imagine dropping $5,200 on a smartwatch, there are luxury watch wearers out there that'll be interested in this model. That's especially true given its special World Cup ties and limited nature.

What do you think of the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia? If money were no object, would you buy one?

Hublot intros $5,200 Wear OS smartwatch that'll be worn by World Cup referees originally posted at http://phonedog.com