The smartwatch market just got a new addition: Breitling.
The Swiss watch maker on Thursday introduced its first "connected chronograph," the Exospace B55. Designed for pilots, the $8,900 (yes, you read that correctly) watch connects with your smartphone, offering two-way communication between the two.
From your phone, you can adjust watch features like time, time zones, alarms, display, operating parameters, and night mode. Conversely, you can upload things like flight times and lap times from the watch to your phone, so you can read them more easily, store them, or share them.
The watch can also receive notifications from your smartphone, including incoming emails, SMS and WhatsApp messages, and phone calls (displaying the person's name and number). It will also remind you of upcoming calendar appointments.
It also offers a "range of original functions tailor-made for pilots." That includes an electronic tachymeter, a chronograph recording up to 50 split times, and a countdown/countup system Breitling says is useful for countdown and timing operations. It can also record "block times," or "times elapsed from the moment the plane begins to taxi towards takeoff through to when it comes to a halt at the end of a mission" as well as keep track of departure dates and times, arrival times, and takeoff and landing times.
As for its looks, the Exospace B55 "is distinguished by its resolutely technical design featuring a sturdy and light titanium case equipped with a rotating bezel complete with rider tabs, and an exclusive TwinPro strap in two-tone rubber." It comes in three versions: blue on black, anthracite on black, and gray on black.
It sports two LCD display screens with backlighting you can activate by pressing the crown or tilting your wrist at a more than 35-degree angle, a feature that "proves particularly effective when the hand is gripping aircraft controls or a steering wheel," Breitling said.
It has a rechargeable battery with a charge indicator so you'll know when it's time to juice up, and is also water-resistant to 330 ft.
Head over to Breitling's site for availability info.