It's not often I'm clamoring for the opportunity to give my money to top name fashion brands, but the Hugo Boss Touch 2 could be different.
Exactly two weeks ago I published my review of the Hugo Boss Touch and despite just a few days ago taking it off my wrist in favor of testing out the Fitbit Versa again, I'm now desperate to hear word of it being replaced.
Earlier this week Wareable spotted the original Touch watch from Hugo Boss had been discontinued on the watchshop.com.
Soon after, the site had confirmation from the Movado Group - that's the parent company behind Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Coach watches, among others - that the smartwatch is being "phased out".
There's no further information on why the product is being discontinued, but right now I have my fingers crossed it's to make way for a second generation of the watch.
I'm almost definitely wrong, and I don't mind admitting that.
It's fair to say the original Hugo Boss Touch has yet to set the wearable world alight. While we don't have access to official sales figures, it's not a watch that's spotted on people's wrists regularly in public and the marketing push has been very limited.
That's a shame as I really enjoyed using this watch for my full review earlier this month, even though it was for a product that's over a year old.
I'm almost definitely wrong...
The design of the Hugo Boss Touch is both fashion focused and premium feeling, which isn't something I can say about all top-end smartwatches. I'm often wearing different watches, but this watch kept getting compliments from my friends who don't often care much about what I'm wearing on my wrist.
It's not designed to be a fitness wearable as there's no heart rate tracker, GPS or other top-end fitness focused tech built-in. Instead it's slim (while still having heft on your wrist) and sports a comfortable strap.
It now features Wear OS software - it originally launched with Android Wear 2.0 in 2017 - and I'll be disappointed to see it leave Google's line-up of devices without having a follow-up to replace it.
The Hugo Boss Touch isn't the best smartwatch right now (I only gave it 3.5 stars in my review, and a big part of that was down to the high price) but it offered something fashionable without having an absolutely unattainable price for the average smartwatch fan.
It was undoubtedly highly priced compared to the competition with an RRP of $329 / £300 (about AU$530), but that's nowhere near the cost of say the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 that was $1,550 (£1,200, AU$2,300) at launch.
Soon the price dropped down for the Hugo Boss Touch to around £179 in the UK, while US customers could get it for around $300. That should have been how much it cost all along to get people excited... and maybe if a Touch 2 happens we'll see it start around that price.
The pricing was also around the same level as the Apple Watch 3, and next to Apple's wearable the Hugo Boss Touch looks like a much less accomplished device as it lacks any top-end fitness features.
All of that said, I'd still love to see what Hugo Boss would do in the smartwatch space next.
The design of the Hugo Boss Touch was nigh on perfect for what it wanted to achieve, and I'd love to see a new watch from the company that sports a similar look but is packed full of more features with a slightly lower price point.
Whether the Hugo Boss Touch 2 ever happens isn't clear yet. My head says Hugo Boss may be about to tap out of the Wear OS watch game for good after one attempt, but my heart is hoping we see a second generation watch very soon. Only time will tell.
