LG is doubling up on Android Wear smartwatch devices in 2014, with a circular smartwatch destined for release later this year, by the end of the fourth quarter. The LG G Watch R (presumably the R is for round) will get a proper introduction at IFA 2014 this year, and will feature the world’s first Plastic OLED display, with a circular face that uses 100 percent of its screen, unlike the Moto 360, which has a chunk at the bottom cut out of its screen for a brightness sensor.
LG’s new smartwatch looks remarkably similar to a traditional analogue watch, with a bezel surrounding the face, and LG is claiming easy readability even in sunlight thanks to the P-OLED display. It’ll pack a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor from Qualcomm, 4GB of local storage, 512MB of RAM and a battery rated at 410mAh, which is roughly on par with the 400mAH power source in the current, rectangular G Watch launched at Google I/O this year.
The G Watch R also includes an optical heart rate sensor, which is present on the Samsung Gear Live but absent on the original G Watch, and supports 22mm watch bands (it ships with a calfskin leather black strap, too). It’ll run Android Wear, of course, and has a gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and barometer built-in. IP67 rating means that it has the same dust and water resistance as the Galaxy S5, which includes the ability to be submerged for up to 30 minutes in water up to a meter deep.
LG still isn’t telling us exactly when this will launch, or its pricing and availability, but they’ll be doing more press around the launch during IFA Berlin next week, so stay tuned for further details.
