Review
Roderick Scott 0

As you all know, many companies are on the hunt to create the perfect or the most profitable smartwatch.   To the masses it doesn't exist yet.  I think Pebble is the closest thing to it but its not without its faults.  Samsung's Galaxy Gears are out there in the wild but its not selling as much as they would like.  Apple is apparently slowly perfecting theirs wearable  w/ the elusive iWatch which may or may not arrive later this year.  

One powerhouse many were waiting for was Google's wearable creation called Android Wear.  Before being officially unveiled, rumors fueled the interest of many Android users w/ the thought of a smartwatch being powered by Google Now.  So Android Wear offers touchscreen navigation, voice-to-text replies to text messages/emails/hangouts, step counter, weather, set voice reminders, and calendar views before downloading any apps from the Play Store.  

Is Android Wear + the G Watch the smartwatch experience we've all been waiting for?  Or any case of almost there but not quite?  We spent one week w/ it and I got the answers to your questions below.  

Buy Yours Here

g watch

Design/Build

Straight off the bat, the G Watch is far from winning the best design award for a smartwatch.  Its a Black metal square w/ rubber straps that can be swapped out for another 22mm bands.  But it does look better in-person than on the product shots.  LG crafted it w/ a buttonless design - that's right buttonless.  So you'll will have to dock it or press the reset button to actually power it on.  Despite its appearance, its still durable as it is IP67 certified.  Making it both dust + water resistant so you can shower w/ it, walk in the rain w/ it  and more without having to compromise.  The G Watch is just regular-looking, plain Joe smartwatch.  It can be dressed up w/ metal bands that makes a world of a difference.  Depending on your tastes, that may work or you might require something a bit more fancy like the Moto 360 - which is due out later this summer.

Display

LG put a 1.65-inch IPS LCD display w/ a 280 x 280 resolution + 240ppi on its 1st contribution to Android Wear.  Now on paper that might sound like crap but for a watch, it's perfectly fine.  Now that LG has introduced us to 2K displays on smartphones you may or may not notice the pixels on the G Watch.  We are definitely NOT at the point where we require 1080p displays on your wrist - far from it.  In regards to using it in direct sunlight, don't.  The screen might as well be off when attempting to view anything on it w/ the sun beaming down on it.  There's no auto-brightness option so you will have to put it on maximum brightness for outside use.  Other than that, i have no real quarrels w/ the display.  

G Watch battery charge 

Performance/Battery Life

 
LG is powering the G Watch w/ a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage.  Within my week w/ it,  I have yet to see any type of lag of any sorts.  Since Android Wear is running w/o the use of any custom skin or UI, I don't expect it to suffer at all on the performance side of things.  But that could change as time passes on but for now, so far so good. 
 

Be prepared to charge it nightly along w/ your smartphone.  

 
Keeping the G Watch powered up is a 400 mAh battery inside.  Now don't get alarmed in thinking that it will only last you around 4 to 6 hours.  Its getting its info from your connected device via Bluetooth LE and the low-res display.  So its not the battery monger you'd expect but it won't get you 2 full days of normal usage either.  A heavy day of notifications will get me around 12 hours of juice form taking it off the charging dock.  While an average day will get me a little over 24 hours before I get the low-battery alert.  Not too bad as I expected it to be a lot worse. 

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Software (Android Wear)

 
Now let's dig into the shiny new software that is Android Wear.  Its Google's vision for an OS for Android-based wearables.  This is more or less the 1st real version (despite the software update after I powered it up).   This is not the Pebble so expect to do a lot of swiping or voice commands to navigate through it.  To get started, you'll need to grab the Android Wear app on your phone to get the lines of communication between your phone & Android Wear piece going.
 

One has to be quite the Google user to get the most out of Android Wear.  

For starters, Android Wear utilizes your info through Google Now cards along w/ your notifications.  This gives you access to your weather forecast, daily commute + navigation via Maps, appointments/meetings via Calendar, flight information, set/view reminders, control music played from your phone, voice-based Google Searches, to notes via Keep, fitness/steps taken, and view your phone calls/notifcations.  Simply say "Ok, Google", to prompt the options or start a command.  

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To change your watchface you just long-press the main screen or go through numerous swipes to find Settings to access it.  To view yours various cards/notifications you just swipe up to go through them.  Cards like the Weather, notifications, and the step counter offer more info that you can access by swiping to the left.  Weather gives you a 4-day forecast w/ highs + lows.  Hangouts gives you the option to browse active convos, reply via voice as well as the option to open it on your phone.  The step counter offers you progress through your history and then a way to your Watch's settings.  Another way to access Settings is to go to the Ok Google prompt and then swipe up to the bottom to get it.   To close out of any app/card, you simply swipe to the right.  
 

No skins or any other OEM tweaks to it.  Android Wear will be stock unless something changes.  

 

What else can you do w/ Android Wear?  Well, a good amount actually.  There are currently 36 apps in the Play Store that you can use out side of your Google Now + voice search functionality.  You can get a ride via Lyft (not in NYC yet, of course) by saying "call a cab".  You'll get a card showing you your driver's name & time of arrival.  Learn different languages via translation + flash cards w/ the Duolingo app.   If you're flying American Airlines or Delta, you can keep up w/ your flight status.  Delta flyers get more access to your boarding pass as well.  Create recipes for your watch w/ IFTTT.  Eat24 makes ordering takeout easy as pie from your smartwatch.  Just to name a few of them.  
 
To grab these apps, you would download them on your phone NOT the watch.  Keep in mind that your Android Wear device simply mirrors your smartphone via Bluetooth.  The potential of Android Wear is huge but at the moment some of you may want a bit more functionality behind it that the current stable of apps have yet to present.  The rest of you will enjoy it as is.  

G Watch review grade 

"Consider Android Wear the next evolution of what Pebble started w/ smartwatches."  

 

TG 2 Cents

 
People's expectations of Android Wear may be a bit exaggerated than what it actually is.  That's not a bad thing but its just not there yet.   It does everything it's advertised to do.  Consider Android Wear the next evolution of what Pebble started w/ smartwatches.  And the G Watch + Gear Live are carrying the torch to usher in the next era of smartwatches.  Does this mean you're ready to buy a smartwatch if you haven't jumped on the Pebble or previous Gear train?  Honestly, yes. If you are an Android user.  Those on other platforms will have to wait for their own wearable (iWatch or Microsoft watch) to arrive.  And for everyone else awaiting for more futuristic abilities/features from your smartwatch, you'll be waiting for a while.  
 
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To Buy Or Not To Buy

 
If you are an early adopter and need that new-new first?  Buy it.  At $229 it's moderately priced as the Samsung's offering is slightly less at $199.  If you want a great looking smartwatch, then you may want to wait for the Moto 360.  But beware, the pricing on that could be a bit higher.   
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Categories: Must Reads Review

Author: Roderick Scott

Father. Husband. Creative. Mild foodie. Batman in my dreams.