LG Watch Sport/Style
While the Android Wear front has been relatively quiet recently, two new Google smartwatches are heading to the market any day now, flaunting the Android Wear 2.0 OS with a gorgeous design. Here’s all we know about the Google Watch – aka LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style.
Android Wear 2.0 has been tipped by @evleaks to be released on 9 February 2017. According to the leakster, the two new Google watches will be announced at the same time and go on sale the following day in the US as the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style.
Release date
According to @evleaks the two new Google watches will be released in Q1 2017 with Android Wear 2.0. He now says the exact date of the announcement will be 9 February 2017, with the watches going on sale in the US on 10 February 2017. LG will also show the watches at its booth at MWC in February.
Design
So, what can we expect in terms of design from the two Google smartwatches? While the two are actively being developed together, there are a few differences between them. Based on its original report, Android Police published a rendering of what the smartwatches could look like along with the claim that the image isn’t an interpretation, but instead “recreations of primary source material” – whatever that means. These claims have since been backed up by Evan Blass (@evleaks) writing for VentureBeat.
Let’s start with the more premium of the two Nexus smartwatches, code name Angelfish, which we now know as the LG Watch Sport. The Sport is said to be the larger of the two smartwatches, with a higher-capacity 430mAh battery and larger, higher-resolution screen at 1.38in and 480x480. The Sport also features more RAM, with 768MB onboard, while both watches have 4GB of storage, which is standard for a smartwatch.
The LG Watch Sport bears some resemblance to the Moto 360 – without the flat tyre, of course. The smartwatch apparently features visible lugs with a smooth housing that curves where the watch strap
meets the body of the device, giving it a smoother (and more premium, we imagine) look and feel when compared to the angular lugs and multi-piece design of watches like the LG Urbane LTE.
Interestingly, the LG Watch Sport is said to have not one but three buttons. Why is this interesting? Most Android Wear smartwatches feature a single button, with Casio’s Android Wear smartwatch being one of the only exceptions to the rule. The Sport is said to feature a large crown button on the right hand side of the body with two circular buttons accompanying it, one above and one below. The purpose of these buttons is unclear at this time, but we speculate that users will be able to set up custom shortcuts to popular apps, and so on.
It’s the thicker of the two Google smartwatches, though. Measuring in at 14.2mm thick, the LG Watch Sport smartwatch is similar to the LG Urbane LTE in terms of bulk, but we imagine this is to accommodate for its larger battery due to the
LTE connectivity featured on the smartwatch. In terms of colour options, the LG Watch Sport will be available in dark blue or titanium.
While the Sport looks to have all the bells and whistles of a modern smartwatch, the Swordfish – the LG Watch Style – looks to be a bit simpler. Described as being similar to the Pebble Time Round without the huge screen bezel in terms of design, the Style also sports a different button arrangement when compared to the Sport.
While the Sport features three buttons, the Style features only one – a crown on the righthand side of the smartwatch. It’s said to have a polished metal cap with a rigid crown-like bezel similar to that featured on the Apple Watch, which should again help convey the premium look and feel of the smartwatch.
Without the extended functionality of the Sport, the LG Watch Style can afford to be thinner than its counterpart measuring in at 10.8mm thin. It reportedly features a 240mAh battery, a 1.2in 360x360 screen, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. It will be available in Silver, Titanium and Rose Gold
Specifications
So now we know a bit about the physical design of the upcoming Google smartwatches, what will they feature? While the reports of the design were fairly detailed, the same can’t be said for the internals. So, what do we know so far?
Apparently the LG Watch Sport smartwatch will feature all the bells and whistles of a 2017 smartwatch including GPS, NFC, a heart rate
monitor and most impressively, LTE connectivity. The ability to connect to the Internet without the need for a phone makes the Sport potentially the first completely standalone Android Wear watch, following the announcement that standalone apps are to be supported in the forthcoming Android Wear 2.0 software update. The LG Watch Style on the other hand is a bit more mysterious, with no confirmed spec rumours, though it should at very least feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. What we do know is that both the Sport and the Style will feature Google Assistant integration, Google’s personal assistant that was first showcased at Google I/O last year. At the event Sundar Pichai mentioned that Nexus devices will get more exclusive software features, leading us to believe that the Google smartwatches will include functionality inaccessible by any other Android Wear smartwatch manufacturer. Along with Google Assistant, Google is said to be working on a completely new style of watch faces that allow for quicker access to the things you need, such as notifications, information (like unread email count), media controls and app functions. It’s said that the controls will sit beneath the watch dial, and are very diverse in terms of the kinds of shortcuts offered, although again, specifics aren’t provided at this time. Water-resistance is said to be rated at IP68 for the Sport and IP67 for the Style.