When you hear that a watch brand is the “official timekeeper” of a high-profile sporting event, you might automatically assume the relationship is nothing more than a sponsorship deal. But Hublot has legitimate connections to the world of soccer, and the Swiss brand goes beyond financial support and adding its name to stadium clocks. As the official timekeeper of soccer’s most prestigious events (including both the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup), Hublot provides referees with high-tech, interconnected smartwatches that are used to time the actual matches. Additionally, the brand has also created limited editions of smartwatches designed specifically for avid spectators, these watches track real-time match statistics and act like wrist-worn heads-up displays for soccer aficionados. Building on the core concept of its spectator-focused World Cup smartwatch, the new Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is based on the brand’s latest generation of connected timepieces, expanding this offering to soccer’s premier annual tournament.
Hublot unveiled its latest generation of smartwatches for 2023 earlier this year, and the new Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 (ref. 450.EX.1100.RX.UCL23) expands on that model in much the same way as the previous World Cup edition, which was a soccer-focused version of the standard-production Big Bang e smartwatch. While it measures the same as the regular model, 44mm in diameter and 14mm thick, the case of the new Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is crafted from light blue ceramic, representing the color of the tournament, rather than white or black like the two standard-production versions. The rest of the watch is largely the same as the current Big Bang e Gen3, with an electronic multifunction crown at the 3 o’clock position, a large AMOLED touchscreen protected by sapphire crystal, and 30-meter water resistance to prevent accidental contact. Additionally, to further complement the UEFA Champions League colorway of this new model, the integrated lugs are fitted with a black and blue rubber strap that connects to the case with a quick-release system.
Running on Wear OS by Google, the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 features eight different sensors, plus GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a heart rate monitor and NFC payment connectivity. This pretty much covers all the major requirements and allows the watch to function perfectly as a practical everyday connected device, but the real draw of these football-themed Hublot Big Bang e models is that they come with unparalleled integration with actual live games. For example, a countdown begins 15 minutes before kick-off and the watch goes into “match mode,” giving the user information about the team’s lineup. During the game, wearers can track goals scored, extra time and half-time breaks, plus key player statistics such as yellow/red cards and goal attempts. Plus, if you miss any of the action, you can replay key moments by scrolling the electronic crown using the “replay” mode.
At the heart of the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon WearTM 4100+ processor, and like previous versions of the Big Bang e, the new UEFA Champions League edition is compatible with both Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems. Despite the numerous sensors and advanced features, the Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 can be fully charged in just two hours, providing users with all-day battery life. Apart from the football-related integration, one of my favorite features of Hublot smartwatches is that they come equipped with virtual watch faces that emulate popular Hublot models and offer enhanced features and playful animations. For example, the chronograph face has the added functionality of a stopwatch, while the minute repeater face chimes. There are also virtual faces that incorporate dynamic digital animations, such as liquid metal or colored ceramic flowing out of the center hand and quickly returning back into the dial when you lift the watch to check the time.
I spent some time with the soccer-themed Hublot smartwatches that were released last year, but if you want to learn more about what these soccer-centric smartwatches specifically mean for Hublot as a brand and the type of person who actually buys them, read our full hands-on review of the Hublot Big Bang Bang E FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The important thing to remember is that these luxury soccer-themed smartwatches were never intended to be Hublot’s first or only watches, nor were they ever intended to be a replacement for the brand’s mechanical models. Aside from a few die-hard soccer fans, the people who buy these smartwatches are primarily well-off people who already own a collection of expensive watches and want to buy a new (relatively inexpensive) watch to get into the soccer spirit and enhance their ability to engage with the UEFA Champions League tournament.
While Hublot’s World Cup smartwatches come out once every four years and are exclusive to that particular tournament, the UEFA Champions League is an annual competition. That means the soccer-related integration of the new Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 should be something owners can enjoy year after year. Hublot has released the third generation of the Big Bang e smartwatch just five years after the model first debuted. Future iterations seem inevitable, but since smartwatches can be updated, we don’t see why you can’t download an update for the UEFA Champions League version of the Big Bang e and have your watch ready to track the next edition of the tournament the following year. Produced as a limited edition of 200 pieces, the official retail price of the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is $5,900, $500 more than the standard Big Bang e Gen3 and only $100 more than the price of last year’s World Cup Qatar 2022 version. For more information on the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 smartwatch, please visit the brand’s website.
