Apple appears to have made another important iWatch-related hire as the device's rumored debut approaches, with CNBC reporting that the company has poached the sales director of luxury watch brand TAG Heuer.
The hiring was revealed by Jean-Claude Biver, head of Jewelry and Watches at TAG Heuer's parent company LVMH. Biver had claimed earlier this year that Apple had been trying to hire some of his employees but at that point none of them had agreed to join Apple.
Biver said the watchmaker's sales director left as recently as last week, "to take a contract with Apple" in order to launch the iWatch. LVMH owns Swiss watchmakers TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith. [...]
Biver said he was happy for the employee as the new role represents a great opportunity for him.
"If it had been a direct competitor, I would have felt a bit betrayed, but if he goes to Apple I think it is a great experience for him," he said.
With Apple reportedly looking toward an October introduction for the iWatch, the company is building a formidable team with experience in the fashion industry.
At the top of that list is new retail chief Angela Ahrendts, who officially joined the company two months ago from Burberry. In another high-profile move, Apple last year hired Paul Deneve, CEO of French luxury label Yves Saint Laurent. Deneve reports directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook and is working on "special projects" for the company, with most speculation centering around the iWatch.
Update: TAG Heuer confirmed to MacRumors that Patrick Pruniaux is the employee who left for Apple. Pruniaux's former position was Vice President Global Sales & Retail.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 6
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
Top Stories
Apple Acquires Weather App Dark Sky
Apple has acquired weather app Dark Sky, Dark Sky's developers announced today. Dark Sky is one of the most popular weather apps on the App Store, known for its accuracy and storm warnings.
Our goal has always been to provide the world with the best weather information possible, to help as many people as we can stay dry and safe, and to do so in a way that respects your privacy.
There is no ...
Apple's 2020 MacBook Air vs. 2020 iPad Pro
Apple in March updated both the MacBook Air and the iPad Pro, and with the iPad Pro increasingly positioned as a computer replacement, we thought we'd compare both new machines to see how they measure up and which one might be a better buy depending on user needs.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We're comparing the base model 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the base model...
Zoom Accused of Misleading Users With 'End-to-End Encryption' Claims Amid Other Security Issues [Updated]
Zoom is facing fresh scrutiny today following a report that the videoconferencing app's encryption claims are misleading.
Zoom states on its website and in its security white paper that the app supports end-to-end encryption, a term that refers to a way of protecting user content so that the company has no access to it whatsoever.
However, an investigation by The Intercept reveals that...
Case for Upcoming Low-Cost iPhone Shows Up at Best Buy With Alleged April 5 Stock Date
Apple has a new low-cost iPhone in the works, which is supposed to be launching sometime in the first half of 2020. Given the ongoing situation in the United States and other countries, it's been unclear if the device is going to launch within the planned timeline, but there are signs that it could be coming soon.
We started seeing cases for the new low-cost iPhone back in early February,...
Apple Adding Some 2013 and 2014 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Models to Vintage Products List at End of April
In an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that the following 2013 and 2014 models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro will be added to its vintage and obsolete products list on April 30:MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2013)
MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)
MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014)
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2014)Apple defines vintage...
AirTags Referenced in New Apple Support Video
Apple has accidentally referenced its widely rumored AirTags item tracking tags in a video that it uploaded to its Apple Support channel on YouTube today. The video was first spotted by the blog Appleosophy and has quickly been removed.
The video was titled "How to erase your iPhone." AirTags were mentioned in Settings > Apple ID > Find My > Find My iPhone under Enable Offline Finding, with...
Testing Brydge's New Pro+ Keyboard With Trackpad for iPad Pro
Well ahead of when Apple introduced trackpad support in iOS 13.4, Brydge announced an iPad Pro keyboard with a built-in multi-touch trackpad. We have one of Brydge's new Pro+ keyboards on hand, and thought we'd check it out to see how it works with Apple's new 2020 iPad Pro models.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The Brydge Pro+ keyboard is similar in design to...
Intel Unveils 10th-Gen Processors Suitable for Next 16-Inch MacBook Pro With Wi-Fi 6 and Turbo Boost Speeds Above 5GHz
Intel today announced the launch of its latest 10th-generation Core processors for high-end notebooks, potentially including the next 16-inch MacBook Pro. The batch of 45W chips, part of the Comet Lake family, are built on Intel's 14nm++ architecture.
The new H-series chips have the same base clock speeds as the 9th-generation chips in the current 16-inch MacBook Pro, but Turbo Boost speeds...
Apple's Work on New Upcoming Products Progressing Normally as Employees Adjust to Telecommuting
Apple's development of upcoming products is progressing as usual despite the fact that Apple employees around the world are working from home, according to a new report today out from Bloomberg.
Apple is still working on new versions of the HomePod, Apple TV, MacBook Pro, budget iPads, Apple Watch, iPhone, and iMac, all of which could be released "as early as later this year" and have been...
2020 iPad Pro May Not Have a U1 Ultra Wideband Chip After All
While it was previously reported that all 2020 iPad Pro models feature the same Apple-designed U1 chip as the iPhone 11 lineup, enabling Ultra Wideband support, we have compiled evidence to suggest that this may not be the case.
As a reminder, Apple's tech specs for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro list an Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness, but the chip is not mentioned in Apple's...
Top Rated Comments
(View all)How is it that people still misunderstand the fact that when Apple aims at a new product segment, they ARE the competition and usually take over that segment?!?!?
This just shows how out of touch this hiring manager was that said this.
Lol to anyone who thinks Apple or wearables will take over the luxury watch segment.
----------
It's going to be massive; massive in price that is. The common iPhone customer won't be able to afford/justify it.
We don't know that, but I think it's safe to say it won't be a clone of the current crop of smart watches (i.e. notifications on your wrist).
It would be hilarious if the iWatch was a huge trolling campaign by Apple and they're actually not planning on releasing anything remotely similar.
It would be hilarious if someone didn't bring this up every time there is an iWatch rumour article.
This iWatch thing is going to be pricey everyone.
How is it that people still misunderstand the fact that when Apple aims at a new product segment, they ARE the competition and usually take over that segment?!?!?
This just shows how out of touch this hiring manager was that said this.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with TAG, but trust me on this, NOONE is going to be torn in choosing between the 2. Completely different ball game , target audience, price point and features :)