The black rubber version of the T-Touch Connect Solar is the purist’s choice: titanium case, ceramic bezel, black dial and a sporty strap that suits the watch’s outdoor DNA. It is also the configuration Tissot uses to showcase what this model represents, the modern successor to the 1999 T-Touch, the first tactile multifunction watch.

What makes it special is balance. It connects by Bluetooth to show notifications and incoming calls, but it never stops being a proper watch: the hands keep time, the solar cells in the dial keep it powered, and most of the functions run independently of the phone. Tissot quotes near-unlimited autonomy offline and at least six months when connected. The interface combines touch zones on the sapphire, an electronic crown and two pushers, with a memory-in-pixel display that stays readable in sunlight.

At 92 grams on rubber, the 47.5mm titanium case is easy to wear on long hikes or flights. It suits people who want smart features but refuse to give up a mechanical-looking dial and real hands.

Specifications: T-Touch Connect Solar T121.420.47.051.00

• Titanium case with PVD coating, 47.5mm by 15.3mm
• Ceramic bezel with luminous windrose markers
• Black dial, Super-LumiNova hands, tactile sapphire crystal
• Swiss solar quartz, Bluetooth hybrid with SwALPS operating system
• Over 20 functions including time zones, auto daylight saving, perpetual calendar, altimeter, barometer, compass with azimuth, pedometer and logbook chronograph
• Black nitrile rubber strap with pin buckle, 23mm lugs
• 100 meters of water resistance

The defining configuration of Tissot’s smart, solar touch watch.