Improved styling, lots of potential for Android Wear, water and dustproof, battery life improving
Separate charging dock, Android Wear still developing
The new version of the LG G Watch is the G Watch R, which comes with a new look on the outside, but recognisable components on the inside. Is a change of face enough to make it a good buy?
For its second incarnation, the G Watch takes on a more traditional circular shape -- Moto 360-style -- eschewing the original's rectangular face.
Unlike other manufacturers that have opted for this design, LG has managed to make use of the whole cicular space. Instead of chopping off the bottom section, LG has utilised this space for rolling alert text.
The strap is leather and feels comfy enough, although there is the option to replace it with any standard watch strap of your choice. The watch body, on the other hand, suffers from the same rather chunky 10mm thickness as its predecessor.
The button on the side wakes it up or switches it off (you can also hold your palm over the face to put it to sleep) and around the back is a new heart rate monitor. It's water and dust resistant and sturdy enough to earn an IP67 rating, which means you can keep it submerged in up to a metre of fresh water for up to 30 minutes.
Screen & Chassis
The screen is now round and a bit smaller overall than it was on the original G Watch -- 1.3 inches rather than 1.6 inches. It is also, however, considerably better quality, replacing LCD with P-OLED (Plastic OLED), the same technology LG uses on its bendy G Flex phone. The benefits of this are that the watch face is now brighter, more vibrant and sharper -- all very important factors to consider on a screen this small. Similarly, the resolution been beefed up to 320x320 pixels -- the same as Samsung's Gear Live -- and this technically a little ahead of the Moto 360's 320x290-pixel display.
There's a plastic dial around the outside, sports watch style, but it's fixed it place, so you can't rotate it as use it as a counter with any of the analogue watch faces available.
Keeping the screen always on means it will always show the time, and the Power Save Mode allows this to happen without putting too much strain on the battery. But while the battery's ever so slightly bigger than the one on the original G Watch it hasn't made much difference to the use time. You'll still need to remember to charge it every night and make sure you don't lose the diminutive charging cradle.
Software & Processor
Inside, the G Watch R is much the same as the original G Watch, with a 1.2GHz processor backed by 512MB RAM and 4GB storage. A heart rate monitor is accompanied by an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and barometer.
Like other Android Wear watches, the G Watch R relies on Google Voice Search and Google Now for most of your interactions. But while it's certainly a boon that your watch can understand you (and it generally can -- the voice recognition is very good) the fact is that it will often point you towards your handset to display answers, which rather defeats the object, we feel. And while Google Now is supposed to learn from your movements and prompt you with useful info, the results you get in reality still tend to be rather random.
Conclusion
The price of the G Watch R has remained more or less the same as the original, which is a good thing considering the greatly improved styling and screen. But with similar processor and battery it offers no improvement in performance, and Android Wear still needs a bit of work. Still, if you must own an Android wearable, this is the one to have right now.
Software: Android Wear
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
