LG's G Watch R smartwatch launches one day before IFA 2014 starts, but will not start reaching stores until later this fall.
On Thursday, Sept. 4, LG Electronics unveiled the G Watch R to the public in Berlin, Germany. The South Korean company confirmed that the smartwatch will be available to buyers on Oct. 14. However, it did not say which areas of the world will be getting the device first.
Aesthetically, the new device has a similar round face as the highly-anticipated Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch. Even so, LG insists that the G Watch R is a unique design that has undergone development since 2012.
Read More: Moto 360 Smartwatch Price and Pre-Order Online
Confirmed Specs: LG G Watch R
Regarding the dimension, the LG G Watch R has a 1.3-inch screen with a resolution of 320x320 pixels. This is an improvement over the previous squared version, which has 280x280 resolution.
It is also about 7/16 of an inch thick, according to measurements provided by Yahoo News. This makes the smartwatch thicker than its rival Samsung Gear Live, which is about 3/8 of an inch thick. Additionally, the G Watch R has IP67 waterproofing. On the back, there is a sensor that measures the wearer's heartbeat.
Under the hood, the round-faced LG watch has a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor and 512 MB of RAM. The watch also has 4 GB of storage, and runs on the latest Android Wear operating system. In regards to power, the device carries a 410 mAH battery.
Prior to this development, the tech giant introduced the squared LG G smartwatch at the 2014 Google I/O conference. The square-version was revealed the same time as the Motorola Moto 360 and the Samsung Gear Live.
For now, LG has yet to confirm a selling price in North America. Back in late August, LG Germany said that the watch will cost €299, which is close to $400 in U.S. currency. The posting has since then been taken down from the German LG site.
On the other hand, the original square LG G Watch is currently on sale both at Best Buy and Google Play Store, it retails for USD $179.99, a $50 discount off the initial price. The reduced price will last until September 23 at the Google Play Store.
