The South Korean tech company confirmed that it will launch LG G Watch by July in the UK, and that the Android Wear-powered smartwatch will cost less than £180 or roughly $300.
This is not Google’s official smartwatch, but given LG’s recent collaborations with the search giant, one could say that the South Korean manufacturer received the blessing (or the license, if you prefer) for creating such a product. That’s definitely seems to be the case since LG G Watch will be one of the first devices to ever run Google’s newly launched Android Wear, a special version of the mobile OS particularly tailored for wearables. On top of that, when Google launched Android Wear, it claimed that it will work closely with LG, Motorola and Fossil to create smartwatches that will run this version of Android.
By the looks of it, LG representatives talked with Pocket-lint and revealed that the LG G Watch will be launched before July in the UK at a very affordable price, the equivalent of less than $300. Other than that, not much is known about the LG G Watch, except that the straps will be changeable. That’s a huge relief, as it means that people will be able to wear this smartwatch both casually and on more formal occasions.
LG also stated that it will also launch a round version in the future, the one launched by July being rectangular, as you can see in the pictures. In the promotional video for Android Wear showed a round smartwatch running the new version of the OS, but as far as I’m concerned, these wearables look better in a rectangular shape.
One major drawback of the LG G Watch is that it will be basically useless without a smartphone. Google and the manufacturers that will bring Android Wear devices into the world conceived this products as smartphone companions, and not as standalone products. Personally, I would love to see a smartwatch having GPS and various sensors (mostly for fitness), so I can use Endomondo on it even if I forgot my smartphone at home. I don’t care if the GSM features are stripped away (I noticed that some Chinese manufacturers are taking that route), as I only need it for other things than talking.
It remains to be seen how the LG G Watch will look and work when the company launches this product. Since Google will reveal Android Wear at the Google I/O conference in June, it’s quite probable that LG’s smartwatch will also be launched then.
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