For a long time I used to run with nothing. Clothes and shoes, obviously—carefully curated over a period of years—but no tech. Running is hard enough, and everything on a runner’s body should be absolutely worth carrying; and until recently, it felt to me like I’m the last runner in the world who hasn’t fallen prey to the trend for digital running watches. That is, until I had the opportunity to test-drive the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5, the brand’s latest and most refined Connected watch to date. 

It bears mentioning that I am not a smartwatch person. I’ve tried many of them, and I tend to find them about as sophisticated as a 1990’s Gameboy. Completely unalive and without charm. I’m also a polo player, and wrist jewelry of any kind is usually frowned upon in equestrian circles. 

But something about TAG Heuer’s fifth-generation connected watch telegraphs the gravitas of a mechanical watch. From the moment I snapped its double-clasp onto my wrist, my curiosity grew. Hefty yet supple, the rubber band felt secure without feeling heavy. The 45 mm case looked substantial, and the coated titanium bezel felt perfectly slick. At a quick glance, you’d definitely think this was more of a technical chronograph than a fitness tracker. The main event here is its AMOLED display, which is sharp, bright, and as detailed as my iPhone screen, rendering even the tiniest elements with clarity.

So, the watch on my wrist, I went out on my usual running route on Boston’s Charles River Esplanade. I hardly noticed that the watch was there, and even several miles later when I was swollen and drenched with sweat, it never chafed or slipped. It passed my highly critical “is it worth carrying?” test solidly. 

I also enjoyed the interchangeable strap system, which is seamless enough to transition from rubber to stainless steel links and back again without requiring an engineering degree. I wore the rubber strap for runs and day-to-day life, and “upgraded” to the stainless links when I needed to leave the house—it looked great with khakis and a cashmere sweater for date night, and also peeking out from a blazer for a board meeting at the Boston Public Library. 

By this point, it’s passed the practical and aesthetic tests, but what about usefulness? In an age when cell phones tell us the time, what else does a watch have to offer? With the Connected Calibre E5, it turns out, there’s a lot. The watch’s main attraction is its proprietary TAG Heuer OS, a suite of biometric trackers which elevate the E5 from attractive wrist candy to bonafide tool. Tag Heuer OS supports voice calls and Siri access, which is the one thing about this watch that spooked me a bit—it seemed to pair with my iPhone automatically without asking for permission, resulting in a few humorous moments where I answered my phone but heard someone speaking to me through my wrist. That’s probably more of me being smartwatch-agnostic, though. What impressed me most, however, was the watch’s battery life—up to three days on a single charge, including several runs and what felt like hours of my tinkering with it, and it zips up with a full day’s charge in about 40 minutes. 

Its sensors track heart rate and heart rate variability, steps, acceleration, blood oxygen saturation, breathing rate, sleeping even which direction of the compass you’re facing, all elegantly presented with live, daily and weekly visualizations. Word has it that later this winter, the sleep functionality will be integrated into the apps, allowing for analysis of the quality and consistency of your sleep, too. This watch is a reminder that, unfortunately, aside from time itself, there are many other things to obsessively track, including opitimizing the rhythm of your life. That’s a lot of data for the average runner like myself, but having all these numbers at my fingers—no matter how modest or unimpressive they might be—felt like I had a framework for how to get better. Am I headed to the Olympics? Probably not. But for the Boston Marathon 2026? The E5 would make for a great training partner. 

All in all, it’s a solid watch for those of us smartwatch averse types who have made it this far without taking the plunge. Where so many smartwatches have tried and failed to bridge the gap between looks and performance, the Connected Calibre E5 succeeds. It’s proof that technology doesn’t have to look like a robot to feel modern, and that when timekeeping looks this good, even your daily run can feel like an indulgence.