Launched in London last year, the Montblanc Summit is one of the few smartwatches which are slowly being developed to target the rising young audience today. They may not wear mechanical watches now, nor have the required knowledge about watch keeping or collecting, but a technologically driven timepiece is something they can all relate to with the rise of FitBit’s and other health wearables from brands like Apple and Samsung.
The luxury watch industry, however, has another aim in mind. While targeting the younger audience is their short-term goal, the long-term vision remains at educating them and getting them used to having a watch on their wrist. The 46mm Montblanc Summit celebrates this vision with its fitness-inspired smartwatch.
First things first, the luxury smartwatch comes quite decently priced at around Rs. 70,000 (approximately) and comes with a range of interchangeable straps – in a variety of colours in both rubber and leather options – which can be changed quite easily. Moving on to the periphery of the wearable, the 12.5mm thick watch is not meant for those with a thin wrist. It has a slightly heavy built though it weighs only 152g.
Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 processor, the smartwatch is powered by Android Wear 2.0 which ensures compatibility with both Android and iPhones. The Android Wear App is very easily available and connects almost instantly with the watch once it’s switched on. The domed sapphire crystal covers the AMOLED display and offers a 400×400 resolution which makes it easy for the user to read the watch.
The Summit comes pre-installed with the Uber, Foursquare, and Runtastic Apps. With its WiFi and Bluetooth features, the watch can also play your music for you. The 4 GB memory allows you to download and stream music which you can then listen to on any bluetooth enabled headphones. The apps also include various fitness-inspired features which offer challenges to the user, apart from the usual daily statistics and analytics. The user can view videos on the dial, for the various workouts available on it ranging from dance, cardio, pilates, cross-country, jogging, aerobics, yoga etc. These challenges act as a coach to enable you to meet your “new year resolution” goals.
The watch does not come with the NFC feature, which may prove slightly problematic considering the future of digital retail. However, the small mic on the watch allows you to talk to the Google Assistant, and offers a clear understanding of what you are saying, with minimal mistakes. But that doesn’t mean you can make phone calls. Even if you dial the contact on your watch, for those with dual sim’s in their phones, you still have to use the phone to choose which sim to dial the number from.
Inspired by their 1858 collection, the Summit comes with the World Time as well making it easy for all frequent travellers to maintain their schedules, agendas, calls, and meetings, from any part of the world.
All these features, although necessary, really drain the battery of the watch. The battery life is one day, and really three-fourth of a day if the watch is used thoroughly throughout the day. The leather strap makes it a little difficult to wear and workout at times, especially for someone with small wrists or for someone who perspires a lot.
Lastly, the Summit comes equipped with an integrated heart monitor which provides an almost accurate reading. You can personalise the watch with the various watch faces available to choose from. One of the major let-downs could be the decorative crown, which has no role as such, without the push button in between which operates the menu on the timepiece.
If you’re new to the luxury watch industry, and looking for a smartwatch, the Montblanc is a safe bet.
Watch the video to the learn more about the mechanics of the timepiece.
