LG officially announced its new G Watch R, which sports a round-shaped design and comes as the first smartwatch to boast a circular Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display.
Motorola stirred a lot of waves with its Moto 360, which rocks a circular design instead of the rectangular form factor found on most smartwatches. While the Moto 360 is yet to make its formal debut, LG has jumped the bandwagon and has now released its G Watch R smartwatch ahead of the IFA 2014 trade show.
The new LG G Watch R is not exactly such a big surprise anymore since the company offered some teasers ahead of its announcement, but it sounds quite impressive nonetheless.
LG's latest gadget comes as the first smartwatch to boast a "Full-Circle P-OLED display," LG boasts. According to the company, the LG G Watch R makes use of every bit of its 1.3-inch display and delivers "stunning image clarity even under bright sunlight and superb clarity when viewed from every angle."
LG further motivates its decision to launch a new smartwatch so soon after the LG G Watch by pointing out that you can't have too many choices when it comes to cool accessories.
"What we've noticed in the year of the wearable is that this is a category that can't be compared to smartphones and tablets," Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of the LG Mobile Communications Company, boasts in the press release on Thursday, Aug. 28.
"Wearables are also accessories and consumers will want more than one to choose from. So we wanted to complement the modern design of the original G Watch with the classic look of the G Watch R. Customers can't go wrong with either device."
In terms of specs, the LG G Watch R features a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage capacity, and a 410 mAh battery. Just as the LG G Watch that launched back in June, the new G Watch R runs Google's new Android Wear platform specifically designed for wearable devices. Lastly, the G Watch R also features IP67 certification, which means that it won't mind the occasional shower, splatter or rain.
The new LG G Watch R will hit "key markets" in the fourth quarter of this year, but LG has yet to provide exact launch details. The company has also yet to mention just how much the new smartwatch will cost, but more information should become available at the IFA 2014 trade show.
