14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday (April 8, 2014) we learned that LG's G Watch would be the first smartwatch featuring the Android Wear operating system. The first one to actually start selling anyway. Now we have some hands-on photos for you.
Well, technically, it's the folks at Pocket-Lint that have managed to wrangle a watch from the company, but that's not altogether accurate either.
You see, LG didn't actually send them a watch. Instead, it provided them with a prototype, or mockup really, that didn't work.
It was mostly so that they could shoot some pictures of what the device looked like, and to illustrate its most noteworthy design trait: lack of buttons.
Most watches, of any kind, have at least one or two buttons, usually on the side, but some have them, or it, at the bottom, underneath the screen as it were.
LG's G Watch doesn't have any buttons at all, which suggests that it is entirely controlled via touch capability integrated into the display.
Sadly, since this was just a mockup, we can't say whether or not the touch input works well. We'd need a working screen and some apps for that.
Speaking of apps, the normal ones won't work, and you won't be able to download new ones, neither directly nor through a smartphone.
This is part of how Android Wear was designed by Google though, not an oversight or deliberate limitation on LG's part.
Google made the new operating system specifically so it would provide smartwatch owners with the full range of possible features, but it didn't bother including support for the programs that can't run well on the hardware of a wearable device anyway.
On that note, the hardware of the LG G Watch is a mystery as well, and will probably stay that way until June, or May if it comes out that fast.
All we know for sure is that the straps will be changeable (there is no hardware in them at all), and there are some charging contacts at the back. Clearly, LG didn't do what Motorola did with the Moto 360 (which was install wireless charging support).
According to Pocket-Lint, the watch “felt premium” and has a “solid, seamless build.” We're still pretty sure that Moto 360 will draw more attention, thanks to its round display, but LG's G Watch will precede it and could be cheaper than it at £180 / €220 / $300 (maybe £180 / €180 / $180 if the company decides to kick exchange rates to the curb).
