Gadgetory

Android wear 2.0 is finally here and it brings needed changes to the wearable platform but the first showcase of these enhancements comes courtesy of LG we did an unboxing on social media where we also asked you to give us your questions and in this review we will pull a few and answer them this is Joshua Vergara what's going on everybody and this is the LG watch sport now before we get started this review focuses on the LG watch sport because it is the more feature have you watch but we will still mention the watch style where applicable the watch sport is clearly the larger of the two and its big size is sure to put up some users it isn't too much of a surprise considering how many bits and pieces there are two programmable shortcut buttons flank the rotating dial the back cover exposes the heart rate sensor and right next to that heart rate sensor is a SIM card tray these are all features that don't come on the LG watch style which makes its smaller body a little more accessible to the average user as a result the watch sport is a bit too big for my wrist though I don't mind the overall look too much my biggest issue with this watch however is the fixed watch strap there is no changing this band so what you see is what you get the style allows for different watch straps which is probably preferred because the locking mechanism makes it feel a little too rigid and angular the style perhaps expectedly looks a little more generic overall because of its lesser feature set the rotating dials are very welcome upgrade even if it isn't particularly new enhancements in the Android wear software leverage this new method of navigation really well and reading through notifications and scrolling in pretty much any area is now an unobstructed breeze the display for the watch sport is a 1.3 8-inch 480 by 480 resolution screen compared to the 1.2 inch 3 60 by 360 resolution panel of the style both protected by Gorilla Glass 3 the larger screen is definitely appreciated for reading notifications and other text elements and we had no issues with responsiveness for either device both of these LG watches leverage the Snapdragon wear 2100 for power while 768 megabytes of RAM put the sport above the 512 in the style 4 gigabytes of storage is available for local music playing but connectivity to Wi-Fi or mobile networks allow for music me speaking of mobile connectivity the sport can use a nano SIM card for data connections and for phone calls without having to leverage the Bluetooth connections it's really only something we'd use in a pinch as the speaker and microphone combo are basic at best all that the watch sport is capable of comes with an IP 68 certification that allows it to handle 1.5 meters for 30 minutes that said it's not supposed to be continuously submerged so any swimmers might not find the sport a good companion for their laps that said the sport does have GPS tracking for run hikes and walks the heart rate sensor can also stay on during these workouts from google fit to help bolster the fitness tracking data Android pay is new to where 2.0 and the sport is the one that can use it simply hit the bottom button that opens pay at default and hold the NFC enabled watch up to any paid terminal to use registered credit cards if you think paying with a phone is fun paying very quickly using the watch feels even more like the future now battery life has not really been a high point for the LG watch sport which has a 430 milliamp hour unit compared to the 240 in the watch style the included charging cradle makes it work as a landscape clock when charging but it takes upwards of 2 hours for it to charge which isn't ideal if you want a top up real quick that said the style is able to get up to a day and a half without too much trouble likely because it has less to power in its lesser feature set our writer David Amell was able to keep features like the always-on display on and still make it to bedtime without hitting single digits the sport on the other hand needed more due diligence and aod off to reach that day and a half the new keyboard is just one enhancement in Android wear 2.0 and it's a wonderful addition replying to messages from most applications allows for the usual voice or canned responses but there is a Google keyboard now available for swiping text it works really well but for some reason the coulomb is oddly missing so I haven't really been able to send smiley faces though where 2.0 isn't really a drastic change from the ground up it might feel like it's a some notifications are no longer cards that take up part of the screen and then need to be swiped over to find each option displayed one by dam1 now each notification is its own screen as you scroll up and tapping on any of them shows you the full note and every possible option this eliminates a lot of swipes and taps leading to a very positive move forward in the overall quality of life apps have been given new life on the watch itself as well as a Play Store for just standalone apps is now available many of the applications you find in here are still companions to the paired smartphone but as development continues to support this new system each Android wear 2.0 watch will be able to do much more on their own Google assistant has also made its way to the wrist and it is a good way of getting some quick answers and perform some tasks this is another portion of wear that will only get better as developers increased assistance capabilities so overall we're 2.0 has made a great step forward for the wearable platform putting it closer in competition to other watches like the Samsung gear s 3 however that also means that it has a price point to match the sport comes in at $349 MB style starts at $249 which is still a bit of a hard sell for anyone that isn't already into smartwatches we're 2.0 is also coming to the more recent Android wear devices like the Moto 360 2nd gen but it won't be coming to first generation devices like the first moto 360 so if you have an original Android wear SmartWatch you might want to go into an upgrade and these are your first devices to choose from all in all the LG watch sport is a great showcase for wear 2.0 which is itself an update that should make any fans of Android wear really happy as always thank you very much for watching and I hope you enjoyed this review of the LG watch sport and a little bit of the watch style we do think it's a pretty good SmartWatch and it's a great showcase for wear 2.0 so if you are looking for an upgrade this is one of the watches you can choose from right now there are a lot more coming out soon and we might see them at MWC 2017 which is where we are headed to right now so keep it tuned to Andrew 30.com for that and even more and head on over to our YouTube channel once again to subscribe if you haven't already because we are your source for all things Android