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LG's £225 circular G Watch R goes on sale in the UK
Google's now selling LG's G Watch R via the Play Store in the US, but in the UK, fans of the circular Android Wear smartwatch are being made to wait. Luckily, Amazon is one step ahead (not for the first time), and has opened orders for the wearable before its rival has had the chance to do the same. At £225, the G Watch R is £70 more than its predecessor, but with a heart rate monitor, better battery life and a fully circular display, it might be worth those few extra notes.
LG is bringing webOS to smartwatches
We can't think of anything that's had more comebacks than webOS, except for maybe The Eagles. Palm, HP and LG have all tried to turn the promising software into a rival for iOS and Android, but so far you'll only find webOS in the Korean company's line of smart TVs. Still, LG appears to be planning to extend the reach of the little operating system that could by baking it into a future line of smartwatches. The Verge has found an LG-sponsored website, since pulled, that promises a development kit for a webOS smartwatch is coming. Ironically, the reveal comes only a few months after LG lost two webOS designers to wearable rival Pebble. Given that the company was quick to make the page disappear (although we've got some more images after the break), and that local rival Samsung keeps Tizen around as a bargaining tool with Google, it's certainly plausible that we'll see a webOS smartwatch in the future. The only question is if, after all this time, anyone will consider buying one.
LG's G Watch just got a $50 price cut in the Google Play Store
A handful of new smartwatches unveiled at IFA and beyond (we're looking at you, Moto 360 and Apple Watch) are already making some still newish models look a little long in the tooth. Take LG's poor G Watch for instance - it's only been on the market for about two months and it's already got a rounder, handsomer big brother with a slightly better screen to boot. That may just be why the OG G Watch has just gone on sale in ye olde Google Play store, where you can now lay claim to your own for $179 (or $50 off the original price tag). You've only got until September 23 to snag one at the reduced price, but hey - we wouldn't be surprised to see that sale price stick around a little longer just to help move more hardware.
ASUS teases smartwatch for September 3rd event
If we're honest, it's reasonable to assume that ASUS will announce a smartwatch on September 3rd. After all, if the rumors saying that the company's working on an Android Wear device aren't enough, then the pretty obvious teaser image should be. According to those pesky rumor-mongers, the unit will be priced between $99 and $149, making it the cheapest Google-approved wearable on the market. We've also heard, thanks to our own sources on the grapevine, that despite the lower price, the watch will use similar hardware to both the Gear Live and G Watch. The only concession apparently being in the battery life department, which will linger somewhere between the 300mAh on the Gear Live and the 400mAh found on the G Watch. Still, whatever the truth, there's only a fortnight to go before we'll find out for ourselves.
If you're buying an Android Wear watch this weekend, read this first
Android Wear is finally here. Two devices were launched at Google I/O: LG's G Watch, and Samsung's Gear Live. Both became available in the Play store this week, and while we're sure you read our comprehensive review, with much of the spec-sheet almost identical (the same 1.2 GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB of storage and IP67 waterproof rating) there's not a lot to call between them. But there are some things to consider. We break them down for you here; just jump into the gallery below.
G Watch promo video gives us another peek at LG's Android-powered wristwear
We're not expecting to find out all about LG's "G Watch" smartwatch (and new top of the line G3 phone) until the end of this month, but if you needed another teaser then here it goes. A short promo video for the device doesn't introduce much in the way of details, but if you want to see its Android Wear software in motion or a few 360-degree rotations of its "timeless" metal body, this will suffice. LG is still promising to the "define the smartwatch" with all-day comfort and readiness for anything on a single charge despite an always-on screen, all in a water- and dust-resistant shell.
Daily Roundup: Xperia Z2 Tablet review, Amazon's phone and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
LG's upcoming G Watch will be water resistant and 'always on'
LG's official site has just spilled a few extra tidbits about the G Watch, which is due out in the summer and will be based on Google's Android Wear platform. For a start, there'll be two color options: "stealth black" or "champagne gold," both with plain rubbery straps and slab-like faces that are meant to look "timeless." Fortunately, though, the G Watch will have the time written all over it during actual use, because LG is promising that the screen will never go to sleep -- unlike Samsung's Gear 2, where you have to wake up the display with a movement of your arm. One last important detail is a confirmation that the device will be water- and dust-resistant -- something that, strangely, still can't be taken for granted in the smartwatch market.
Daily Roundup: Sony's 'Project Morpheus,' the Moto 360 smartwatch and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Google's Android Wear project adds HTC, LG, Motorola, Qualcomm, Fossil and more for new smartwatches
Last week at SXSW, Android and Chrome head Sundar Pichai said we'd be hearing more about Google's foray into wearables in two weeks' time. And it looks like the company's delivering quite early on that promise. The newly announced Android Wear initiative, which makes a Google-approved SDK available to developers eying the wearable space, will initially focus on smartwatches created by the likes of industry heavyweights like LG, HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Asus. While Qualcomm, Intel, Broadcom, Imagination and Mediatek will also be pitching in on the chip side. Fossil's inclusion in this Android Wear partner mix is the most interesting, and will, from the sound of it, mostly be a fashion play for the nascent wearable category. As for when we'll actually see the fruits of these wearable partnerships, Google's only committing to the very vague "later this year." Which means news on these Android Wear smartwatches could land anytime. But for now, at least, LG's giving us a look at what to expect from the project with its recently unveiled G Watch.
LG G Watch to launch next quarter with Android Wear
Over the last two years, LG has established a storied history of collaboration with Google. The two companies have worked together on three devices (two Nexus smartphones and a Google Play edition tablet) and today we're hearing about the fourth -- a smartwatch. LG's latest piece of handywork, known as the G Watch, features Google's new wearables platform called Android Wear. LG's keeping quiet on the specs and other details of the new device, but as you can see in the image above Google Now features prominently on the platform. And, just like on the Moto X, users will be able to initiate voice commands by simply speaking "OK Google." LG wants the G Watch to act as a "low barrier to entry" for developers, while offering a Google experience to users at the same time; this likely means that when the watch arrives sometime next quarter (exact date and pricing remains unknown), we can expect it to sell at a rather competitive price point. "The opportunity to work with Google on LG G Watch was the perfect chance for LG to really pull out all stops in both design and engineering," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, CEO of LG's Mobile Communications division. "We're confident that a well-designed device has the potential to take the smart wearable market by storm." Of course, it'll have plenty of competition as Motorola, HTC, Samsung and even fashion brands like Fossil get in on the fun.
