Having shown glimpses of it in a teaser video released last Sunday, LG has now officially unveiled the G Watch R. Like the original G Watch released back in June, the G Watch R is another Android Wear powered smartwatch, but unlike its square-shaped predecessor, it has a circular design that looks more like a traditional timepiece.
Ultimately, the G Watch R looks set to compete directly with Motorola’s upcoming Moto 360. But unlike the 360, which has a screen shape that some observers have likened to a flat tire, the G Watch R’s 1.3-inch P-OLED display is completely circular.
On the inside, the G Watch R is almost identical to the first G Watch. It has a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. It does have a marginally bigger battery however, 410mAh rather than 400mAh. It also has a heart rate monitor – a feature lacking on LG’s first Android Wear device.
LG says the G Watch R will be available in “key markets” early in the fourth quarter of 2014, but has not revealed a price yet. The company is likely to provide more information at next week’s IFA 2014 trade show in Berlin, where the device will be on display.
As somebody who owns a Pebble Steel, I’ve been waiting for more companies to release smartwatches with more traditional looking designs, so I’ll be following the progress of the G Watch R closely.
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Thanks for the info Paul, I’ve been waiting on the Moto 360, but this might take my money instead.