LG's G Watch was one of the first
Android Wear devices to hit the market, but it didn't quite capture the fancy
of the buying public the way the beautiful, round Moto 360 did. So LG
went back to work, and came up with a beautiful, round smartwatch of
its own. Meet the G Watch R.
LG has finally verified that round displays on
smartwatches are real. They're "a thing." The Moto 360 isn't a one-off; the industry has officially figured out how to
deliver round wearables, and it's going to do so on a measurable scale. But there
is still an issue.
The G Watch R's key feature is its display, a
1.3-inch Plastic OLED panel that takes up 100 percent of the watch's round
face. LG promises that it's viewable in sunlight and clear from any angle, and
the plastic also comes with some durability benefits — the G Watch R works in
up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. The screen rests in a stainless
steel frame, and comes with an interchangeable calf skin leather strap. This
device looks perhaps more like a normal analog watch than any other we've seen
before, including the Moto 360.
Of
course, it's not an analog watch. It's powered by Android Wear, meaning it offers the same Google Now-based
experience we've seen on a couple of devices so far. You'll get notifications,
easy access to notes and calendar and directions, and more. It's powered by a
1.2GHz Snapdragon processor and 512MB of RAM, plus 4GB of internal storage. It
has a heart-rate monitor, unlike the G Watch, plus a handful of health and
fitness apps that should make the G Watch R a little more useful as a fitness
tracker. Still, from a functionality standpoint the devices don't differ much.
It's all about the hardware — and the hardware makes all the difference.
Where
the G Watch is bland and square — not badly designed so much as simply not
designed at all — the G Watch R has a lovely sense of sophistication to
it. Part of that is also due to the retro-analog watchfaces, which show
sweeping second hands and a set of internal dials that look right at home in a
classic watch. There's even a crown on the side, which is likely the power
button in disguise. (The G Watch's mysteriously missing power button appears to
have been rectified.)
Count
on this being a trend this year: smartwatch makers will churn these devices out
as fast as they can, attempting to satisfy as many tastes as possible and to
learn as quickly as possible what works for consumers. Things will change
quickly, but right now, it's hip to be round.
However, there is still a big question in
consumers´ mind. And that is;
SMART WATCHES STILL DON´T LOOK THAT GREAT
FASHION FIRST
That's not to say a wrist-worn device must
have a round face to look good, of course, but it can't look like a physical
manifestation of high technology — it has to put fashion first, because it's
always visible. You can hide a smartphone in your pocket or purse when it's not
in use, but wearables have to ascribe to the same rules of design as a shirt,
shoe, or hat. (Imagine how many more Google Glass would be sold if they were
indistinguishable from regular sunglasses or eyeglasses.) The round face, an
iconic element of the classic wristwatch, is a huge leap in that direction.
ANALOG WATCH HANDS ARN´T DEAD
But it's only a leap, not the finish line.
Multiple industry sources have indicated to me that manufacturers are
aggressively pursuing display technologies that would make smartwatches
virtually indistinguishable from a 30-year-old Timex or Tag Heuer without
sacrificing functionality. Analog watch hands aren't dead: consider a round,
full-color display with hands above, or a transparent OLED
with hands underneath, for instance. The
technology is close, and designers are fully aware that they need to get there.
And for smartwatches, that's the dream: once
engineers figure out how to seamlessly walk us back to analog, they'll be able
to replicate the full spectrum of designs found in traditional wristwatches.
Obviously analog hands aren't for everyone, but then you'll be able to choose
something more akin to a Moto 360 or G Watch R, or even a rectangular display
if that's more your style. That variety is a wonderful thing. It's a
celebration of form factor diversity that we've lost with smartphones in the
age of the glass rectangle — but thankfully we won't have to lose it with the
wearable.
