LG gave their new Watch Urbane a slight redesign this time around along w/ better specs & the addition of LTE abilities.  Now we have a stainless steel + brushed aluminum finish that is IP67 dust/water-resistant, rubber straps, a 1.38inch P-OLED display at 480 x 480 resolution + 348ppi, powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, built-in mic, 570 mAh battery, and of course, a built-in mic.  

We've handled several Android Wear devices in the past starting w/ the LG G Watch to this one: Watch Urbane 2 LTE.  We missed out on the 1st Urbane Watch by LG but we were fortunate enough to not miss out for the 2nd time.   We've had a good amount of time handling it and we're ready to talk about what you need to know about it.  



 

This might be the best smartwatch display thus far.

Some may have had a problem w/ the overall comfort as it has been fine w/ me.  The rubber straps are a bit on the stiff side but it's not a big deal for me in regards to daily wear and comfortability.  The screen is immaculate for a smartwatch display.  Blacks & Reds show up beautifully - like the wearable equivalent to the S7's AMOLED panel.  

We would crown this as the best smartwatch display - at the moment.  With this being an LTE smartwatch, you might think the battery life on this is the worst.  On the contrary, it lasts about as long (if not longer) than other Android Wear devices.  I was able to get just over 24 hours on a single charge w/ moderate LTE phone usage.  The Urbane 2 has 3 buttons on the side but unfortunately are not customizable.  The middle button toggles it on/off while the other 2 are tied to your Contacts + LG's Health app.

Now, onto what makes this smartwatch different: its LTE sim card.  This adds the ability to send/take calls w/o your smartphone being in range.  Our Verizon model only allows you to answer incoming calls.  While the onboard mic is adequate, odds are that you won't be in a quiet environment taking calls Dick Tracy-style.  

The pricing is the true downfall of this smartwatch.

This thing is ridiculously expensive as you have a premium fee along w/ an additional monthly charge for the plan attached to the sim card.  AT&T wants $200 w/ a 2-year contract and $10 monthly.  While VZW wants a whopping $450 w/ a 2-year contract and $5 monthly.  Yikes!

TG 2 Cents

LG Urbane 2- review grade

Dope smartwatch, terrible pricing.

To wrap things up, it's just too expensive.  As pretty as it is (to me anyways), it's not doing anything remarkable enough to truly justify the pricing.  Already being the opposite of cheap, you'll have to pay for an extra line thanks to its LTE abilities.  If you truly want this, I would just hold off for the price to drop - if that.  Other than that, if you need something right now: go for the Moto 360 2nd-gen or the Huawei Watch.  

Categories: Review