Smartwatches began as devices that complement smartphones. However, with our never-ending need for mobility, there’s been need to have them become stand-alone devices. Not really standalone but become devices that don’t become unusable if you forget your phone in the house in the morning. Apple has since updated its WatchOS to bring native applications to its Watch. Google has moved towards doing the same on its Android Wear platform and more… Like support for wireless and cellular networks (3G, 4G LTE). However, so far, that has yet to be exploited.
LG’s G Watch R was the first Android Wear device to take advantage of version 5.1 of Android Wear which brought support for Wi-Fi. LG is back in the news again for being the first wearable-maker to introduce an Android Wear-powered device with support for cellular networks as well with the second generation LG Watch Urbane. That’s really not new ground, Samsung has been there with the Gear S and now the Gear S2 but those two devices run Tizen so it is a first for Google’s wearable platform.
Here are the specifications of the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition:
- Display: 1.38-inch P-OLED Display (480 x 480 / 348ppi)
- Processor: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
- Operating System: Android Wear
- Size: 44.5 x 14.2mm
- Memory: 4GB internal storage / 768MB RAM
- Battery: 570mAh
- Network: Bluetooth 4.1 / Wi-Fi / LTE / 3G
- Sensors: Accelerometer / Gyro / Compass / Barometer / PPG / GPS
- Color: Space Black / Opal Blue / Luxe White / Signature Brown
- Other: Dust and Water Resistance (IP67)
The LG Watch Urbane will be available at a yet to be announced date in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The United States and Korea will get it first. As you can guess, it won’t come cheap.
