Luxury watchmaker Hublot is the latest to launch a WearOS smartwatch. Called the Big Bang E, it’s the brand’s second smartwatch after it released the strictly limited edition Big Bang Referee WearOS watch in 2018, in celebration of the World Cup held in Russia that year. The Big Bang E will be easier to get hold of, and the great news is that’s it’s currently the cheapest way to become a Hublot watch owner. That said, the Big Bang E still costs $5,200.
Leaving that aside for a moment, what about the watch itself? Hublot launched the Big Bang series in 2005, and the watches have become icons due to the use of specialist materials and stunning movements. The Big Bang E continues the tradition. The 42mm, water-resistant case comes in either titanium or black ceramic and is made from 42 different parts, with 27 used in the “K Module,” the name Hublot gives to the cage holding the digital components, alone.
The 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 pixel AMOLED screen is set under sapphire crystal, while the rubber strap uses Hublot’s One Click system to attach to the case, making it easy to swap it out for different versions. Hublot says everything about the watch, from the design of the screws to the rotating crown, has been made to the brand’s exacting requirements. This is the same approach taken by Tag Heuer for the Tag Heuer Connected smartwatch, which is also part of the LMVH group along with Hublot, Zenith, and Bulgari.
Hublot aficionados will appreciate how the Big Bang E’s case shares may design elements with the original Big Bang models — from the screw locations to the overall shape of the case — but obviously, what’s inside is different. The Big Bang E uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 3100 platform with 1GB of RAM, Google’s WearOS software, and a 300mAh battery. However, even at this price it doesn’t have a heart rate sensor. It comes with a variety of specially produced watch faces, including eight created by artist Marc Ferrero, which have special animations that play on the hour. Other watch faces include one showing the phases of the moon.
No Hublot watch comes cheap, and the Big Bang E is no exception. The titanium model is $5,200 or 4,300 British pounds, while the black ceramic version is $5,800 or 4,800 British pounds. All are currently shown as coming soon inside Hublot’s own online stores in the U.S. and the U.K., and will be sold through Hublot’s retail boutiques in the future too.
Just like all luxury smartwatches, there is very little technically different between the Big Bang E and a $299 Moto 360; but there is a world of difference between the materials, engineering, and the cache that comes with ownership. While $5,200 is a lot to spend, it’s also but far the cheapest way into Big Bang ownership, seeing as a simple stainless steel 44mm Big Bang with an automatic movement is $12,500.