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Maybach Ultimate Luxury EV brings its own tea service
If an automaker wants to succeed in China, they need to electrify their cars. The country has strict EV plans and for anyone looking to buy a car in a city like Beijing, going electric means not having to apply for the license lottery to own a car. So it's no wonder that Maybach (the ultra-luxury arm of Mercedes) unveiled a concept crossover built specifically for the country's ultra-rich that's all electric.
Cadillac goes green with the CT6 Plug-In hybrid
More and more luxury automobile owners want to go green. Sure, there's a chance they're looking to save a few bucks on gas, but you rarely find people who buy feature-filled powerful sedans and then worry about the prices at the pump. For the automakers, some of that desire to be more eco-conscious is government-mandated. As in the growing Chinese market, where hybrids and EVs will soon be the norm as the country tackles its pollution problem.The CT6 Plug-In is built in that country to capture that market. But it's also here in the US and it's a worth a look.
The Infiniti QX80 is too pricey to have this little tech
I'm not kidding (okay, I'm sort of kidding) when I say that the Infiniti QX80 (starting at $64,750) is only slightly smaller than a studio apartment I used to live in. It's a very large SUV that's packed to the gills with luxury features. It's certainly nicer than my old home. And, with room for eight, it has more seating, too. But like my old abode, it's not exactly on the cutting edge of technology. Sure, it's filled with modern touches you would expect from a luxury SUV, but the QX80 is in a weird spot right now. With parent company Nissan introducing its impressive semi-autonomous driving system ProPilot Assist to the Infiniti Q50 sedan and CarPlay making its way into Nissans, the QX80 feels left behind.
The Velar is a Land Rover for (rich) tech-lovers
Land Rover and its family of Range Rover vehicles are known for rugged luxury. You can drive through a river in the woods during the day, rinse it off, and drop it with a valet at the opera that night. It appeals to a demographic that's more interested in the Burgundy region of France and postcards than Burning Man and DMs. So to appeal to the tech CTOs instead of the Wall Street CEOs the company introduced the Velar, its "avant garde" Range Rover.
EU lets luxury brands block goods from Amazon
Luxury brands in Europe have won the right to block sales of their products online if they feel it damages their image. An EU court ruled that Coty, the owner of brands like Calvin Klein, Covergirl and Chloe, can block its German distributor from using Amazon and other internet retailers. "Such a prohibition is appropriate and does not, in principle, go beyond what is necessary to preserve the luxury image of the goods," the European Court of Justice ruled.
eBay will now verify luxury handbags sold on the site
eBay is now offering a new service for sellers of high-end handbags. Today the company launched eBay Authenticate, a program that photographs, lists, sells, ships and verifies the authenticity of luxury handbags from 12 major brands. eBay says the goal is to provide would-be buyers with more confidence in the items they're about to throw down a lot of money for.
Airbnb to target wealthy customers who prefer luxury hotels
Airbnb keeps expanding its core disruption with new features to help increase its audience. The company has made it easier for business travelers to find a room with the Airbnb app and has tried its hand at tour guiding with a new activity suggestion feature. Now the room-sharing company is reportedly looking at ways to attract customers who would rather book at high-end luxury hotels.
Turing's new phone boasts human and digital assistants
Remember the Turing Phone? You're forgiven if you didn't. Turing Robotic Industries unveiled the ambitious phone to much fanfare, only to delay it multiple times and even switch operating systems. That isn't stopping the company from producing a follow-up, though -- it's teaming up with TCL to make its next upscale phone, the Appassionato. The Android device is still made from Turing's signature extra-strong Liquidmorphium alloy (complete with a ceramic-like carbon coating), but it now includes a hybrid concierge and voice assistant service named, naturally, Sir Alan. Details of how it works aren't clear, but it'll let you get "lifestyle and business recommendations" from both AI and human helpers.
Montblanc's first smartwatch is the luxury Summit
Luxury brand Montblanc has already made a few tentative steps into the smart things space. And just as a simpler stylus preceded a fancier note digitizer, Montblanc is now ready to follow up its e-Strap accessory with a fully fledged Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch. It's called the Summit, and there's nothing too out of the ordinary as far as components go: A 1.39-inch (400 x 400) AMOLED display sits up front, with a Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, 512MB of RAM and 4 gigs of storage tucked away behind. Other notable elements include a heart-rate sensor and built-in microphone, but Montblanc is under no illusion it's pushing the boundaries of technology here. It's much more concerned with style.
China's latest luxury phone packs a massive 7,000mAh battery
Many luxury smartphone makers see their work mainly as a matter of wrapping an ordinary device in upscale materials, maybe adding a concierge service and calling it a day. Gionee, however, is taking a different approach: it's giving you one huge feature that gives you a clear reason to pay a premium. It just launched the M2017, a metal-and-leather 5.7-inch phone whose centerpiece is its enormous 7,000mAh battery. Yes, there's a real chance that it has a larger power pack than your tablet. The company estimates that it'll last for nearly 32 hours of talk time and 26 hours of non-stop video, or enough to get you through a few days of moderate use. If you're a jetsetting business type (Gionee's target market), you might never need to plug in during that all-important day trip.
Mercedes-Maybach concept is a look at the future of luxury cars
Stop us if you've read this before: Mercedes-Benz has another ridiculous concept car. At CES 2015, we got a close look at the F015 Luxury in Motion self-driving concept and now the automaker is back with an all-electric coupe. Officially dubbed the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, the new vehicle is a mix of "sensual purity" and "aerodynamic efficiency" according to Daimler AG design lead Gorden Wagener. Mercedes also notes that the Vision 6 is an equal mix of "hot" with emotional design and "cold" with so-called intelligent details.
Is there a market for a $14,000 super-secure Android phone?
It's been a hard year to enter the mobile phone business: Profits in the Android world are nonexistent, and most of the industry's established names are struggling. HTC, LG, Sony and others have far more red ink in their mobile division's balance sheets than black, and Samsung could soon follow suit. Hell, even iPhone sales may have reached their apex. It's why the auspicious launch of Sirin Labs' premium £9,500 Solarin phone ($14,000 (plus tax), seems like such a risky move. But company co-founder Moshe Gogeg (also known as the guy behind the novelty messaging app Yo) thinks he can succeed where so many others have failed.
Liquid-based watch tech is coming to more devices
If you're a fan of high-end watches and really want to stand out, one of your slicker options is HYT's H series. Instead of relying solely on spinning hands to tell the time, it uses a hydro-mechanical system that fills capillaries with fluid. Sounds niche? Well, it won't be for much longer: HYT and its sister brand Preciflex are receiving $23 million to fund not just more of these liquid-based watches (including at "different," likely more affordable prices), but to a "new type of fluidic jewelery." Preciflex has also been using it in the automotive and medical fields, too, so don't be surprised if you see the microfluidic tech grow there as well.
Vertu's sudden CEO swap spells trouble after Chinese buyout
It's only been three months since we met Vertu's then freshly-appointed CEO Billy Crotty, an Irishman who was brought in by the company's new Chinese owner, but for reasons unknown, it appears that he's already left the luxury phone maker. That's according to the LinkedIn page of Gordon Watson, who has since been promoted from VP of Sales and Marketing to CEO. Needless to say, it's an unusually short stint for such an important role, though there were already signs of trouble beforehand with the recent departures of other key execs.
TAG Heuer's Android smartwatch is (relatively) popular
TAG Heuer's $1,500 Connected smartwatch may have been a big gamble, but it's paying off... relatively speaking. LVMH watch chief Jean-Claude Biver tells Bloomberg that his company is upping production of the Android Wear timepiece to meet demand from retailers, and it's even freezing online sales until May or June for the sake of giving physical stores a better shot. However, the numbers aren't about to keep established smartwatch makers awake at night. Production is increasing from 1,200 per week to a not-so-whopping 2,000 -- for context, IDC estimates that Apple sold 3.9 million smartwatches in the third quarter, or about 43,000 per day. TAG's device is successful in the luxury world's terms, but numerous smartwatch brands will easily outsell it.
This 'Super Mario Bros.' watch will cost you $18,950
How much of a Nintendo fan are you? Enough that you could spend as much as you would on a car, just to show the world where your allegiances lie? You'll want to talk to luxury watchmaker Romain Jerome, then. It just unveiled a limited edition Super Mario Bros. mechanical timepiece that marks the 30th anniversary of the plumber's adventures in style. And we do mean style: its 46mm case is made out of black titanium, and the three-layer dial is loaded with enamel-coated pixel figurines to remind you of Mario's early days. It's quite posh-looking, then, although the eye-watering $18,950 price will likely rule this out unless you're a high roller with some fond gaming memories. On the plus side, that ultra-rare Nintendo World Championship cartridge suddenly seems like a bargain.
Chinese-owned Vertu vows to keep making luxury phones in the UK
It's been a little over a week since Vertu announced that it is now under full ownership of Hong Kong's Godin Holdings. Which, as we found out, is linked to Godin Cyberspace Security Technology -- aka GodinSec from mainland China. This raised two questions: Will Vertu be ditching its "Handmade in England" slogan in favor of the classic "Made in China?" And does Godin intend to make use of its own secure smartphone OS on future Vertu devices? The short answer to both is no, according to the newly appointed CEO Billy Crotty.
TAG Heuer's Connected is a $1,500 Android Wear watch you can trade in
Before we kitted them out with high-res AMOLED screens and WiFi, luxury watches were the sorts of thing you could wind up and pass down through the ages. With its new Connected smartwatch (seriously, its name is "Connected") TAG Heuer thinks it's captured "eternity in a box" and restored a sense of legacy to an otherwise obsolescing wearable. Erm, we'll see about that. Long story short, it's a $1,500 Android Wear watch that you'll be able to trade in for a mechanical version after two years if the whole connected lifestyle really isn't for you.
Sennheiser's new Orpheus headphones cost $55,000
When it comes to the very particular world of audiophile headphones, few names raise as many pulses as Sennheiser's Orpheus HE90. Designed 25 years ago, and limited to 300 pairs, the legendary headset came with its own valve amp, and a hefty $16,000 price tag. Today, Sennheiser lifted the cloth on a new Orpheus, and it's just as crazy. Apparently 10 years in the making, the new Orpheus builds on its predecessor's famous electrostatic design, bringing it up to date with a new signal processor, new marble-clad design, and wonderfully decadent motorized housing that reveals the knobs and valves when you turn it on.
Vertu's posh smartphone is probably more powerful than yours
If you're going to shell out $9,900 or more on a smartphone, you're either nuts or you've really made it in life. Or both. Either way, Vertu's done its part by updating its flagship luxury smartphone line, the Signature Touch, with pretty much all the best specs available in the current market. As CEO Max Pogliani put it, this "is the most complete Vertu smartphone that we have ever produced." Most notably, this new titanium device runs on Android 5.1 and packs an octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipset with 4GB of RAM, along with 64GB of internal storage plus another 64GB on the included microSD card (expandable up to 2TB). Funny how at a time when mainstream players like Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus are staying away from microSD expansion, Vertu found no issues with this feature and has therefore chosen to side with spec-hungry folks like us this time.
