LG Electronics unveiled the world’s first smartwatches to run on Google’s Android Wear 2.0 in the US on Wednesday.
Android Wear 2.0 is Google’s newest operating system designed exclusively for smartwatches, a follow-up from the first Android Wear 1.0, which was unveiled in 2014.
LG said its two smartwatches, LG Smart Sport and LG Smart Style, will go on sale Feb. 10 (local time) in the US market. It plans to soon unveil the devices in the UK, UAE, Taiwan, Russia and Canada gradually. They will be available in Korea in March.
“Users can download various apps, such as an internet browser, games, calculators and calendars, directly on the smartwatch without going through smartphones, which means even iPhone users can enjoy any app,” an LG Electronic official said.
LG Watch Style (LG Electronics)
The two smartwatches also adopted artificial intelligence system Google Assistant, which allows users to play music and check the weather via voice recognition technology. It also features health and fitness platform Google Fit.
Both the devices feature Snapdragon Wear 2100 and a rotating side button for users to scroll content without touching the screen.
LG Watch Sport features a 1.38 inch circular plastic OLED display and has embedded global positioning system chip.
LG Watch Style is 10.79 millimeters thick, sports a 1.2-inch plastic OLED display, and is certified with an IP67 rating, which means that it is fully protected from dust and can also withstand being submerged in 1 meter of static water.
By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
