Beau HD reviews the G Watch R Android Wear smartwatch from LG. The G Watch R is the world's first Android wearable with a fully circular P-OLED display that is not only stylish but high quality. In addition, it is dust and water-resistant and includes a 100 percent stainless steel body.
This is the LG G Watch R, the world’s first Android Wearable with a fully circular display. I’ve been wearing this watch now for the past week or so.
The LG G Watch R is certainly one of the best-constructed smartwatches to hit the market. It features a 100 percent stainless steel body and it really helps to make the watch feel more premium. Its sturdy, doesn’t feel cheap, and more importantly it doesn’t feel like it’s going to break, which is also a good thing.
In my first impressions video, I mentioned that the bottom featured a heart rate monitor but it also features a matted sort of soft-touch sandpaper bottom and it’s just a lot better than plastic since it doesn’t stick to your arm when you get sweaty.
The front of the watch features a classic watch-like face with intervals of time around the display. I think it looks alright for a smartwatch but great for a traditional watch. It really depends on what kind of style you’re looking for. The steel knob on the side of the watch can rotate but its only function is to turn the watch on or off and to access the settings. It would have been cool to see if LG had incorporated a function like to slide through all the cards, kind of similar to the Apple Watch since the knob can rotate. But that’s probably against Google’s software capabilities right now so it’s not an option.
As for the leather strap, it’s pretty stiff. It’s gonna take some time to wear down and get more comfortable. But it is genuine leather and it feels as premium as leather gets. You can swap out the bands with other bands by taking it to a watch shop. From a style perspective, metal would look better than leather. But for comfort, leather would be the better option.
By taking a look at the display, you’ll notice that it really is very great. It’s smaller than the Moto 360 but it is entirely round. There’s no lip or flat side on the screen. But the sheer roundness didn’t really impress me that much. I was more impressed with the P-OLED display quality, which is noticeably better than any other smartwatch displays I’ve seen. The colors are a bit more vibrant and brighter than other Android Wear devices. And the display is more densely packed with more pixels coming in at a 245ppi index.
The software is pretty straightforward. It runs Android Wear, which is centered entirely toward card-based notifications that you can swipe through. And it works with no problem, no lag or stuttering. The Snapdragon 400 processor makes all that possible with no real problems at all. The only problem I’ve come across with is that its indented display makes it harder to swipe between notifications since the display is not that big and the bezels are large and sort of rise up above the display so it doesn’t create the best experience.
The absolute best feature and reason why I would actually buy this smartwatch over any other would be the battery life. It’s rocking a 410 mAh battery that lasts easily 2 days on a single charge. True story, when I first unboxed this watch, I wore it for 3 days without charging it at all. And it stayed 100 percent for the first two days before it actually dropped down significantly to around 74 percent and 34 percent and so on. I actually think there’s a little bit of a battery glitch with the percentage of how much battery is left but nonetheless, it lasts a long time, which is incredibly important with wearable devices.
So overall, the LG G Watch R is a solid Android Wear device. If you’re looking for a more traditional Android Wear smartwatch than in terms of design, this is the one you should look at. The sort of indented display isn’t really my favorite. I would prefer a larger display with less of a bezel. Also, the price is pretty high at $300. It does have a killer battery though.
Again, if you want a traditional looking smartwatch running Android Wear with an all-day plus some battery, then I think you’ll really like this watch. However, for all the other reasons, I believe there are other options out there.
If you guys would like me to compare this watch with the Moto 360, be sure to hit the thumbs up.