Dubai: The G Watch R is the second smartwatch from LG but with a round face. The first G Watch had a square face and it was not launched in the region.
LG’s G Watch R and Moto 360 from Motorola are the only watches in the market currently with round faces and look similar to a normal watch with an on/off button the side.
It runs on Android Wear designed for smartwatches. LG’s watch is smaller than Moto 360’s 1.6-inch at 1.3 inches in diameter but is chunkier than Moto 360. It weighs 62 grams.
It is big for some hands but if you are used Casio’s G watch, then this is not an issue.
The black stainless steel case feels rugged and able to withstand bumps and drops.
The 320 x 320 resolution display, which has a pixel density of 246ppi density, is made of plastic OLED, so the watch looks crispy and colours are vibrant and can be seen in bright sunlight.
It is powered by 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor with 512MB RAM and 4GB of internal storage capacity. It is water and dust resistant (submergible to one metre for about 30 minutes) and has optical heart rate sensor at the back, gyro, accelerometer, compass, barometer but no built-in GPS or stand-alone wireless connectivity.
Heart rate sensor
The plastic dial around the display gives the watch an attractive and sports chronograph look.
The heart rate sensor is very accurate on the watch and it can also be activated by speaking to the watch to show “what is my heart rate or what is my pulse”. The readings of heart rate and number of steps taken are stored on the watch storage.
It sports a microphone through which you can ask Google Now for directions and whatever tickles your fancy.
The calls and message notifications are shown at the bottom of the screen and the calls can be rejected from the screen itself.
The messages can be replied by speaking to the phone but it depends on the ascent. Some words are misspelled.
It is connected to the smartwatch via Bluetooth 4.0 and the Android Wear app needs to be downloaded from the app store.
The watch can be connected to any Android smartphone running Android 4.3 or higher.
It has built-in 20 watch faces, ranging from classic to modern, and many can be downloaded from the app stores, some for free and some payable.
The disadvantage is the stiff watch strap from LG even though it is genuine leather and it looks cheap. But the 22mm strap can be changed like a normal watch.
It calculates the steps taken but not the heart rate continuously. The app needs to be triggered to monitor the heart rate.
The OLED screen uses less power and if the watch is in “always on” mode, the watch turns to minimal black screen to save power by just showing the time and notification status. Turning off the “always on” mode will turn the screen completely black after a few seconds. Touching the screen once will bring the screen back to life.
LG’s power-save mode, which enables the display to retain its resolution without a supply, uses only 10 per cent of the battery life compared to normal mode. By covering the face of the watch when in normal mode turns the watch to power save mode.
The viewing angles are very good.
Voice command
The user interface is arranged in different cards, similar to Google Now. Swiping from the bottom of the screen to the top reveals all the notifications while swiping to the left dismisses the current one.
Swiping from the top to the bottom shows the battery life and the mute button.
Tapping on the face of the watch activates the voice command interface.
The navigation options give turn by turn directions to the destination.
Pressing the crown bring back the watch to life and a long press takes you to the setting menu for adjusting the brightness level, connecting the Bluetooth devices, power off, restart, reset, toggle aeroplane mode, etc.
The Android Wear has room for improvement and needs some polish and perhaps, even more functionality to be added.
The G Watch R sports a 410mAh non-removable battery which is the biggest among the smartwatches in the market and can last for more than two days with the “always on” mode switched off. With the “always on” mode turned on it last for one — and-a-half days.
LG uses a proprietary circular charging cradle with magnetic dock. The pins at the back of the watch need to properly fitted on the cradle’s pin. It can charge the battery to full in less than 30 minutes. The device is priced at Dh1,099.
