Hublot is back with the Hublot Big Bang E, the latest Swiss smartwatch to rock Google Wear OS – with a $5,800 price tag.
The Big Bang Referee 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia was the last outing from Hublot, and there were rumors that its successor would focus on the Euro 2020 tournament – but with that tournament cancelled, we’ve been spared another ridiculously convoluted name.
And that might be for the best, as the Hublot Big Bang E looks a much more stylish, less gimmicky and more wearable smartwatch than the Referee.
The Big Bang E comes packed into a 42mm case, down from a whopping 49mm on the 2018 edition. That's pretty compact compared to the megaliths we’ve seen out of Switzerland in the past, such as the Tag Heuer Connected and Alpina X Alive. There will be two versions, one in titanium and the other in ceramic.
However, coming from Hublot we can’t see this being unnoticeable on the wrist as its Big Bang watches are pretty masculine and chunky.
A Swiss watch wouldn’t be complete without some bizarre quirk of engineering, and Hublot says the Big Bang E is made up of 42 components – 27 of which are for the K Module that holds the technology. We’re not sure why that’s important.
The K Module hides a Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage.
However, the company has confirmed the Big Bang E is water resistant to 30 metres and comes with an interchangeable strap, which uses a mechanism for quick release.
Google Wear OS is powering the show, just like previous versions. And the design stays true to the mechanical Big Bang, and the crown on the right becomes a digital pusher for controlling the operating system.
On the software front there is some customisation from the standard Wear OS experience, with digital versions of traditional Hublot complications. These include Perpetual Calendar with moon phase, and a second GMT time zone which shows the Earth rotating.
Hublot says it’s releasing bespoke watch faces from brand ambassadors, which it will drip feed to users in future updates to the watch. And it’s already confirmed that the first will be a pack of eight dials from artist Marc Ferrero, which will change color every three hours and play a five second animation on the hour.
There’s no word quite yet how many of the Big Bang E will be made, but the ceramic version will cost $5,800 and the titanium one $5,200 – for a Wear OS device. You read that right.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.