Interestingly, the G Watch Urbane is pitted against the Apple Watch as the base version of the Cupertino giant's much anticipated device is priced similarly.
We used the Urbane for more than two weeks to find out if it is the perfect smartwatch. Here's our review...
Look and feel
We have to give it to LG for the super premium design of the G Watch Urbane. The stainless steel casing, the gold finish and the stitched leather strap have all been tastefully put together to create a timepiece that will go well with business suits and smart casuals. Unlike the first G Watch or the Sony SmartWatch 3, it's not sporty and feels a little out of place at the gym. But it's one of the few smartwatches that actually look very similar to a premium analog timepiece and don't attract unnecessary attention.
The large metal bezel does add to the weight and also makes the watch a little big for people with small wrists. It's 11mm thick, and weighs 66.5grams. This also means that most ladies won't find it appealing; we made some try the watch on and they felt it was too big. We got the gold coloured unit of the watch and to be honest, found it to be gaudy. Straps are swappable and you can use any 22mm band.
The G Watch Urbane also has a side button that looks like a watch crown. You can use the button to turn on the display, dim the brightness and access the settings (long press).
What makes the G Watch Urbane really stand out is its 1.3-inch fully circular (not like the Moto 360 which has a black bar that disrupts the circular design of the watch-face) P-OLED display with a 320x320p resolution which is crisp, bright and super sharp. The gorgeous display offers excellent black levels and great sunlight legibility. The display is not at the same level as the bezel and is slightly sunken. This prevents you from scratching the screen when you brush past walls and other surfaces. However, at times you feel swiping takes more effort.
At the back, you'll see the optical heart rate sensor and metal contacts for charging.
LG Watch Urbane is IP67 dust and water resistant (can be submerged up to 1meter for up to 30 minutes). This means you don't have to worry about damage from water splashes on a rainy day. We'll not recommend swimming with the watch on (with that leather strap).
Overall, the G Watch Urbane looks suave thanks to all the metal and the leather strap.
Hardware
LG G Watch Urbane is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor and 512MB RAM and comes with 4GB internal storage. The watch comes with an optical heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer and gyro sensors. There's no GPS though. In terms of connectivity, it supports a wide range of options including Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. The SmartWatch 3 is powered by a 420mAh battery.
Using the G Watch Urbane
It's worth pointing out that you need to connect the watch with an Android 4.3 or above smartphone via Bluetooth. You need Android Wear app to connect the watch.
The watch runs Android Wear 5.1.1 Lollipop, the latest build of the OS at this time. You can access the menu and navigate through the different apps and functions through the touch display or make use of voice commands (the watch has a microphone). The "Ok Google" command can help you give instructions to the watch to send text messages, set a reminder, check the weather, track your heart rate, open an app, control music or ask for directions.
We've been using Android Wear devices for almost a year and have to admit that Google has been updating the experience with each software update. Version 5.1.1 fine tunes the OS even more dividing the menu into three swipe-able lists (right to left) with the first one featuring all the apps, the second offering recent contacts list (you can initiate calls or messages) and the third one displaying common actions for tasks (the old menu if you've ever used an Android Wear device). We're glad Google realised that the app list needs to be more prominent and placed it on the first screen.
Swipe down from top to control notifications (between all, priority and none), turn on Theater mode, boost brightness instantly or quickly access settings.
You can now reply to messages by drawing emojis! Well it doesn't really let you draw custom emojis but tries to identify what you're drawing and sends the one that it matches with.
The watch also offers notifications for calls, emails, messages, traffic alerts and other Google Now-based contextual updates in the form of cards. The watch also supports gestures so you can just flick your wrist to browse notification cards.
LG includes some great looking watch faces that blend in perfectly with the watch and make it look like a nifty analog timepiece. It also includes apps for measuring and tracking your heart rate and for making or rather initiating calls from the watch. The calling app was pretty useful as it gives you access to a keypad and call log but you have to use the phone to converse. Just like other Android Wear watches, the Urbane doesn't come with a speaker so you can't use it for calls.
The revolutionary feature that the Urbane and the new Android Wear version brings is support for Wi-Fi sync. The best part is that the watch and your phone need not be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The watch will continue to receive internet-based notifications even if you leave your phone at home, as long as both are connected to the internet. In practice, it's not very efficient and we observed frequent disconnections. Also, apps like Maps require you to go back to your phone on and off. Talking of Maps, the new version is now a lot more self sufficient but unfortunately the G Watch Urbane lacks GPS. The Maps app along with a few others also come with the always-on, ambient display capability with the watch display switching to a power efficient black and white mode with minimal information, when you're not actively looking at it.
While you get all your notifications, Android Wear still doesn't offer watch equivalents of popular apps. We still can't check-in on Facebook or Swarm or browse our pictures on Instagram.
We also observed some performance improvements. For instance, when we started navigating the menu while listening to music via our Bluetooth headset, there was no stutter.
In terms of battery life, the G Watch Urbane is better than the original G Watch and will last you one and a half days if you play music, have your phone set to display notifications from multiple apps and don't use the ambient mode (always on watchface). If you use the ambient mode, the Urbane will hardly last you a full day. LG includes a magnetic clasp charger with it which means there's another accessory to carry (and never lose) in your travel bag. We prefer the Sony SmartWatch 3's charging solution as it doesn't need any additional accessory and charges directly via micro-USB.
Verdict
The LG G Watch Urbane is available on Amazon at Rs 29,990. We feel it's expensive if you compare it with other Android Wear time pieces. It's without doubt the most good looking smartwatch around and adds features like Wi-Fi and a heart rate sensor. Having said that Android Wear is still evolving and we hope to see more apps and better battery life. Of course the watch is not for you if you're an iPhone, Windows Phone or BlackBerry user.
The Moto 360 also offers Wi-Fi and heart rate sensor (albeit with an older chipset and is awaiting the software update) and is now available at Rs 12,999. If you want a more sporty watch and track all your activity, then the Sony SmartWatch 3 is a better option available online at Rs 15,000.
You can read our first impressions of the Apple Watch if you're waiting for its India debut and want to know more about it. We expect the Apple Watch base variant to be priced higher or equal to the G Watch Urbane. You'll need to shell out a lot more if you want to buy anything other than the Watch's Sport variant which doesn't really look as good as the Urbane.
No comments:
Post a Comment