Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport: in review

When a smartwatch can hide in plain sight

For me, personally, smart watches have been a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, I appreciate the insights that I can get on my sleep patterns (and silent alarms in the morning), as well as the capability to track my activity throughout the day (whether or not I get out for my walk). On the other hand, I still like wearing traditional watches. Which is why I’ve leaned into smart watches that hide their smarts for travel. If you want all of that, and a Swiss brand on your wrist, then the Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport is where it’s at.

Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport: what it is

At first glance, the watch looks like a simple three-hander with a glossy, austere dial. But then a press of one of the buttons, or even a tap on the crystal, and you see that there is a small display built into the dial. The rest of the dial has another secret - there are solar cells there.

That’s right - no worries about battery longevity with the Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport, as it will top itself up as soon as the photons hit it. In fact, you can check the charge performance on the watch, and in the app, you can see how you’re using power on the watch, to try and tailor your battery life.

All of that is to let you use the watch as a smartwatch. With the included HR sensor on the back (and of course an accelerometer for tracking steps) and the ability to use your phone’s GPS, this is a watch that do all the things you’d want a watch to do over the course of a day.

What’s great about it is when the smarts aren’t being read out, the dial is fully black, and you wouldn’t know any better. However, once you engage the display, you appreciate just how they managed to pack things into the space, and how crisp the readout is. It’s also great how you can tap and swipe on the sapphire crystal - and not just use the two pushers - to navigate the smartwatch interface, just as you would on a full-screen sort of a watch.

Wearing and using the watch

If you’re looking at a smart watch, there’s going to be one of a few different categories you likely fall into:

• You just want something to track your daily steps, and are looking for the best bang for your buck

• You’re training for a specific event (say, a marathon) and you need something purpose built

• You already like a particular ecosystem (say, a wellness app) and need something that talks to that app

• You like watches, you like tech, and you want something that is different from “yet another” full screen smart watch

Now, on those first three points, the Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport isn’t really the fit. The last one, however, it’s firing on all cylinders. That they’ve built touch into the sapphire crystal is quite the game changer. Often, in a watch that looks like this, you’re limited to interacting with the watch simply through the crown. And sure, that works. But these days, we are so used to being able to swipe through interfaces, it truly does make things easier to use.

Realistically, once I had the watch setup and connected to my phone, I really didn’t rely on the app for much. Sure, I’d synch my activity and such (and then get that into Apple Health), but actually interacting with the watch, I was using the watch itself. It’s a solid, sporty watch, and one that I’d be more than happy to take traveling.

Wrapping things up

Now, the Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport also further distinguishes itself with the fact that the case is made of titanium (rather than steel or plastic) so it has a nice - but not too heavy - weight to it. This also helps explain the premium price a bit (as does the slick touch crystal). At this price point, however, we were a little disappointed that the optical sensor wasn’t also able to provide oxygen levels. A minor quibble, but sometimes, nits are what we have to pick.

If you’d like to get a Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport like we reviewed here (complete with the dark finish), you’re looking at $1,125. Other accent colors (without the tinted case) come in at $1,050, while a version on a two-tone titanium bracelet runs $1,150. Check the watch out, and order yours, directly over at tissotwatches.com

Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport Tech Specs

• Case & Crystal

  • Length: 43.00

  • Width: 43.75

  • Thickness: 13.47

  • Lugs: 21.00

  • Water resistance: Water-resistant up to a pressure of 5 bar (50 m / 165 ft)

  • Case shape: Round

  • Case Material: Antimagnetic titanium case with black PVD coating

  • Case options: Ceramic bezel

  • Crystal: Tactile scratch-resistant sapphire crystal

• Movement

  • Energy: Quartz

  • Movement: Swiss connected quartz solar tactile

  • Battery: Accumulator type Renata ICP371427SPC

  • Functions: Time, Time zones, Automatic daylight saving time, Perpetual calendar, Alarm, Timer, Chrono split, Chrono lap, Chrono log book, Step counter, Calories burned, Distance travelled, speed, pace, heart rate, Notifications, incoming calls, Connection alerts, move alerts, Eco mode, Automatic standby mode

  • Caliber: 16,5'''

  • Diameter (mm): 37,5

• Dial

  • Dial color: Black

  • Indexes: Indexes

• Strap

  • Strap/Chain reference: T603048907

  • Strap length 6h (mm): 118.80

  • Strap length 12h (mm): 80.55

  • Strap details: Silicone

  • Strap color: Black

  • Buckle: Standard buckle, Interchangeable quick release bracelet

  • Buckle options: Interchangeable quick release bracelet