Android Wear was released in 2014 and was debated on. It was a very simple,elegant way of giving you glanceable information along with Google Now cards on your wrist. Very nifty and cool right? It was and it is. Here is my review after a couple of months on the LG G Watch.
Design
The LG G Watch has a super understated design. A plastic housing with Gorilla Glass 3.0 screen measuring a 1.65-inch LCD IPS display spotting a 280 x 280 display on the top. It isn't the clearest display in the market and I would've loved an AMOLED display for better battery life but it still gives me adequate amount of runtime. Viewing angles are just nice on the G Watch. The Rubber straps differ to the color you choose (I chose black). And metal clasps to fasten the watch to your wrist.
The design seemed to be too simple to many. And it didn't arouse them to get it. But I, however, loved it. I didn't want every single person to come up to me and ask "what is that on your wrist". But I didn't mind explaining to my friends on what it was when they asked. But, the design did seem to have a bit of wear after a while of using. It is benefit that the straps are changeable so that you can replace them. Also a lack of a power button is very odd. To turn on the device, you'd need to get it on the charging cradle to turn it on.
Performance
Performance on the G watch is like what you'd expect. Fast, fluid, responsive, and reliable. But these benefits only come at a cost. You must configure your settings, preferences on Google Now properly. That's how you get the best out of Google Now. Which is also one of my favorite products that Google has Released.
Here are some sample cards:
Also, not to mention, the G watch is running pretty low specs. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor is not the fastest in the market but it is just nice to run this device. It rarely ever lags but when it does. It lasts for about 5 seconds. Pretty acceptable for a device like this. It basically is your Phone on your wrist. All notifications are given perfectly and beautifully. Everytime a WhatsApp message comes in. It vibrates on your watch almost instantly. You can also install some apps to further enhance your experience such as an app grid, games, calculator and even an remote to control your camera.
Battery Life
Battery life on the LG G Watch is decent. It does it's most important thing. And that is to give you a full day of usage. It actually gives me 18 hours with 'Always On' screen and with it off. It gives me more than 24 hours.
Day to day use
I use it daily. Everywhere I go. It is a benefit that it's actually IP67 certified so it is waterproof. I am not afraid of getting it wet in the rain and or showers. Though I don't take showers with it. Water does register as touches so I personally just take it off. It isn't advised to be fully submerged in the water but it can withstand that. Under sunlight it does not prosper well. But it has a mode called 'Sunlight Mode' where it maxes the brightness for a while so you can see it under sunlight. It is basically like your cellphone under sunlight. Hard to make out what you're actually looking at until you max the brightness. The Watch is very comfortable to wear at all times and does not feel heavy. Feels like a regular old G Shock. But I'd much prefer this to a G Shock given all the extra functionality. The pricing is roughly the same. Around RM 599 from DirectD (Malaysia).
Android Wear
Android Wear is sort of like Stock Android for smartwatches. Kind of like Nexus for Android! Very interesting. As you probably already know, there are many smartwatches with their own softwear. Samsung with Tizen. Pebble with PebbleOS and Qualcomm with their Toq series. Even Casio has a smart G Shock now that can pair with your iPhone or Android devices. As of the time I'm writing this review. Android 5.1 has not yet for Android Wear. Rumors suggest that it will include gesture controls and better battery life. Overall it is a very stable software and runs buttery smooth. No software is lag free. But you can see how polished Android Wear is. Even at the first generation.
Watch Faces
The Google Play Store has an abundant amount of watch faces. Also the reason why I chose this watch over a typical watch. It gives you the ability to change your watch faces after you're bored with it. There are also tons of apps you can use to create your own watch face. My personal favorite is Facer. It has tons of choices to choose from depending on your Watch.
How it looks like on your wrist:
Conclusion
The LG G Watch is an amazing device. It gives me everything I needed. But I needed to configure some of the settings to make it fully beneficial and functional for me. It really is a wonderful device to have now. But like many other reviewers have said. It isn't ready for the mass market. But I enjoy using it everyday. It has become some sort of necessity of my daily life. It makes everything so much easier.
Pros
- Clean Design
- Reliabe
- Battery Life that lasts more than a day
- Very useful
- Fast
- Affordable
- Voice action works flawlessly
Cons
- WhatsApp is not fully integrated for it. It has the same problem as the popup message. It does not allow you to send more than one reply.
- Voice action does not work without connection to the internet
- Some apps are expensive that do too little things.
Why you need it
It stops you from inconveniencing yourself to pull out your phone from your pocket just for a random notification that might not be all that important. And due to a smooth voice recognition, all you need to do is say "Okay Google" to do whatever you desire. If you like controlling your music and not missing out any notifications and or to reduce the time you spend with your face on your phone to spending more time on reality where it all matters. Android Wear and the G Watch is just for you!
Written by: Jim
