Tag Heuer Calibre e4 connected smart watch review

[laopadak]

I've been in the market for a smart watch for a few months now. Previous watch was a Garmin S60, sold and was looking for an upgrade. My primary use for a smart watch is phone notifications, quick yardage of the hole I'm playing with front/middle/rear green yardage, occasional bike ride with the kids. Daily steps, heartrate monitoring and other features are nice, used sometimes but ultimately, I just wanted something nice, classy and something I like looking at. 

 

A few weeks ago, I picked up a Garmin Epix 2 Sapphire in white and bought an expensive band to match. Spending ~$1200. Wore it for a day and although the Garmin checked all boxes for golf, features, exercise, battery life etc. it just felt cheap on my wrist. Returned and paid the initial shipping cost ($30). 

 

Ordered and received my Tag Heuer Calibre E4 overnight, directly through Tag. It's the 45mm in stainless. Reviews were kind of mixed, battery life was a concern. It carries the Tag Heuer name but still made in China. I have other Tag watches currently and in the past and always liked their style. 

 

Initial thoughts- This thing is beautiful, presentation/packaging is what's expected from a luxury brand, screen and the stock faces are awesome. Quality built and looks amazing. 

 

 

Cons-

 

It utilizes Google Wear apps so I had to download that, downloaded Tag Heuer app and Tag Heuer Golf App on my iPhone. Really don't like that I have all three of these apps on my phone. 

 

Google Wear, it syncs up to my google account- which I use for work but not a lot of other stuff. Has Google assistant but I keep getting an offline message when I try to use it. I also get regular notifications that there's an issue with my google Play account. 

The Tag Heuer app gives me access to their watch faces (can also change on the fly, on the watch directly), also gives me access to exercise options and a few other things I'm still exploring

Tag Heuer golf app is required for the golf app that's loaded on the phone to work. It doesn't come preloaded with the 40K golf courses like you would see on a Garmin. There's no subscription service required. 

Battery life was a concern- It isn't a Garmin or other smart watches that lasts for days without a charge. I was expecting to charge daily. 

Main, center dial- if pushed and held takes me to google assistant. I need to figure out if I can default this dial to something else.

 

Pros-

 

Fit and finish. Screen is amazing

Stock face options are much better than Garmin's offering where you see alot of missing pixels due to being created by 3rd party.

Has some weight to it (stainless case) so feels like a nice luxurious watch.

Packaging 

Charging dock is nice- when charging, screen turns into a digital watch screen. Intended for placing on your nightstand.

Provides ample features for a standard smart watch- steps, heartrate, weather, notifications, music control on watch. Doesn't have a speaker but does have a microphone. 

Band is fully adjustable to allow for a perfect fit. Quality rubber, if there's such a thing. Doesn't feel lightweight and flimsy like the Garmin bands. 

Tag Heuer name/brand/quality and finish

Stainless steel case is nice and polished- Great contrast in color scheme, black band, black bezel with white letters, stainless case, stainless band clasp. 

 

Played my first round of golf with it this past weekend. I'm a 16 handicap so my shots aren't always accurate. I also use a rangefinder/slope on my second shot to get an exact yardage. I like glancing at my watch for general hole layout (if I'm not familiar with the course), front middle rear hole location but that's about it. I don't care to track each shot, my score and utilize all of the watches golf features. 

 

Arrived to course with a full charge on the watch and my iPhone. 

Launched Tag Heuer golf app on iPhone and launched Golf on the watch. Quick syncing, ready to go. 

Touchscreen on watch allows me to move target around. Initial target defaults to the middle of fairway, based on yardage I inputted for my driver on the golf app. A Measley 220yds....

On second shot- it recommends club based on yardages I inputted for my other clubs. I can move target around to get yardages to hazards, pin placement etc. This is done with ease. 

Upon hole completion, I can take count of score, # of putts really easily. I thought I did this for all 18 holes but at the end of round it indicated I shot an 84 but I shot a 92. Probably forgot to log in 1-2 hole, due to the beers I'm pounding in between shots. 

Battery life of watch post round was 46%. iPhone battery was 85%. I'm playing music to a bluetooth speaker throughout the round so this tells me the golf app on phone isn't draining anything. All GPS functions are done directly on the watch and the phone app just records the data being sent back. 

Kept the watch on for remainder of day (finished around 1PM) and by night fall, I was down to about 25% battery life. 

 

Conclusion- 

I still need to play around with the apps and watch to learn more about its capabilities and to take advantage of its features.

Golf functionality works well for what I need it to do. 

Watch features gives me what I want. 

Battery life isn't that bad. I charge all my stuff before bed anyway so I don't need 5-10 days of battery life w/out a charge. 

I'm a Tag Heuer fan boy, I like luxury on certain items and paid a premium for this watch. 

Watch is great for daily use- casual and professional business use. Doesn't scream for attention but gets noticed. 

 

In all- you can get away with a $200-$400 smart/golf watch and get the same features / functionality. But if you're in the market for a luxury smartwatch, the new Calibre E4 is worth a look. 

 

 

[SwingBlues]

Nice review. I have 2 Tags myself including an Aryton Senna, the 1st edition. Love the watches especially the styling. The glass they use is amazing, not a single scratch on it but you pay for the quality.

 

I just invested in a Voice Caddie T9. It ain't no Tag but it's functional & different. I feel like these GPS watches are almost at a point where they can replace iron/distance measuring  devices like ARCOSS

[k12carter]

Did you pick up the standard e4 model or the golf edition? Been looking at both but not sure what direction to go. Doesn’t look like there is anything missing from the standard e4 that I can get with the golf edition? 
 

Nevermind! Missed your photos! Did you cosnider the golf edition at all? 

Edited May 8, 2022 by k12carter

[SoCalTitleist]

Are they still running and older OS .

[laopadak]

15 hours ago, k12carter said:

Did you pick up the standard e4 model or the golf edition? Been looking at both but not sure what direction to go. Doesn’t look like there is anything missing from the standard e4 that I can get with the golf edition? 
 

Nevermind! Missed your photos! Did you cosnider the golf edition at all? 

Honestly I didn't do a model comparison between the standard e4 and golf edition. I preferred the looks of the standard over golf edition and knew the standard will fulfill my golf needs. 

[laopadak]

15 hours ago, SoCalTitleist said:

Are they still running and older OS .

 

To my knowledge the biggest difference between new e4 and older e3 models is the chipset, which is the latest and greatest snapdragon chip set plus longer battery life. I don't know if the newer chip runs off a different OS than previous version but being newer, it should be easier to update and be compatible with latest OS, if it's not already running it. 

 

I considered picking up a preowned e3 but the reviews were significantly worse. I think I'd rather have a nice Garmin vs. older e3. e4 FTW baby! 

[Archimedes65]

I'm a big Heuer fan (Carrera Calibre and a Formula 1) and I considered the e4 but decided against it based on the initial reviews I read, mostly the heft and the battery life.  This would be my first golf watch and I wanted something simple and very lightweight, so I bought the Garmin S42 Approach, which I love so far.  Super light, comfortable and simple.  Still may upgrade to the Heuer down the line.  Looks like a really nice watch.

[craz-e]

Thanks for the review, I am considering the E4 myself

[laopadak]

6-month (or so) follow-up. 

• It's still a beautiful watch that I enjoy wearing and looking at. 
• Battery life isn't so bad- lasts a full day, 18 holes of golf in the early AM, 30-40% remaining at the end of evening. 
• I'm not utilizing all its features but it works well for what I want/need.

Biggest complaint is the rubber grommet / cover that goes over the crown. It has a nice feel to it and matches the watch but mine has fallen off twice in the past 3 months. I'm not abusive on the watch but in both cases, the rubber grommet fell off as it rubbed against my pant pocket. In both cases, I didn't know until the next day, after charging and putting it back on the next morning. 

 

First time- I took it to a local authorized Tag reseller. They sent it in for me and I got it back within 2 weeks.

Second time- Just 20-40 days later, I started communicating with Tag directly, asking to return the watch (6-7 months of ownership, 2 failed rubber grommets) and they wouldn't entertain accepting. They've provided a return label and it's currently being repaired. I think it'll take 4 weeks total time. I've asked if my watch will be updated with a new crown or if they're just replacing with the same, that keeps failing. They've indicated a new epoxy will be used and repairs come with a 1 year warranty. WTF

 

Food for thought if you're considering the Tag Heuer E4 connected watch. 

 

[sethdavidsdad]

On 1/11/2023 at 1:45 PM, laopadak said:

6-month (or so) follow-up. 

• It's still a beautiful watch that I enjoy wearing and looking at. 
• Battery life isn't so bad- lasts a full day, 18 holes of golf in the early AM, 30-40% remaining at the end of evening. 
• I'm not utilizing all its features but it works well for what I want/need.

Biggest complaint is the rubber grommet / cover that goes over the crown. It has a nice feel to it and matches the watch but mine has fallen off twice in the past 3 months. I'm not abusive on the watch but in both cases, the rubber grommet fell off as it rubbed against my pant pocket. In both cases, I didn't know until the next day, after charging and putting it back on the next morning. 

 

First time- I took it to a local authorized Tag reseller. They sent it in for me and I got it back within 2 weeks.

Second time- Just 20-40 days later, I started communicating with Tag directly, asking to return the watch (6-7 months of ownership, 2 failed rubber grommets) and they wouldn't entertain accepting. They've provided a return label and it's currently being repaired. I think it'll take 4 weeks total time. I've asked if my watch will be updated with a new crown or if they're just replacing with the same, that keeps failing. They've indicated a new epoxy will be used and repairs come with a 1 year warranty. WTF

 

Food for thought if you're considering the Tag Heuer E4 connected watch. 

 

Geez not good for the quality aspect. The high quality is one reason I would consider the watch. Hopefully this will fix it. Battery life is also concerning only 18 holes and down to 30-40%. 

[laopadak]

14 hours ago, sethdavidsdad said:

Geez not good for the quality aspect. The high quality is one reason I would consider the watch. Hopefully this will fix it. Battery life is also concerning only 18 holes and down to 30-40%. 

Yeah, there are some concerns but overall, the quality, screen, fit and size is awesome. Still haven't decided what I'm going to do with this watch. Once fixed and returned, I might sell it and go back to Garmin, their Marq collection. Adventurer looks pretty nice. 

[rukahs]

Friend of mine has the Marq Golfer, it's a very solid watch - it will feel far superior over the Tag if you bought it. 

[BigBenB]

So just to be clear you are using a standard E4 and not the golf edition. I’m considering one and would like to use for golf but prefer the standard bezel and classic look. Sounds like it will run the golf app. Any downside doing this? I know the golf edition bezel goes from 1-18 and gives an indication of your scoring at a glance. Just curious what your experience has been 

[laopadak]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:59 AM, BigBenB said:

So just to be clear you are using a standard E4 and not the golf edition. I’m considering one and would like to use for golf but prefer the standard bezel and classic look. Sounds like it will run the golf app. Any downside doing this? I know the golf edition bezel goes from 1-18 and gives an indication of your scoring at a glance. Just curious what your experience has been 

Standard E4, non golf edition. I didn't see the benefits of the golf specific edition as the standard E4 is fully capable of running in golf mode. Agree, the standard Bezel and classic look is much better than the green, golf version.

 

Mine's up for sale, if you're in the market still. I had the entire head replaced under warranty last month.