Gadgetory

the first generation of Android wear smartwatches were pretty impressive setting some very high expectations for what's to come here in 2015 LG is looking to set the tone with their latest Android wear SmartWatch but is it good enough to earn a spot on your wrist this is the LG watch urbane what's going on guys lon here from Android authority and LG is no stranger to the SmartWatch game at this point and judging by the design of the watch urbane it certainly shows the urbane is classy elegant and beautiful and isn't just a good-looking Android wear SmartWatch but a good-looking watch in general most importantly the circular design and smaller details like the power button disguised as a winder and thick watch lugs make the urbane look like a normal watch the untrained eye the body is constructed out of polished stainless steel giving off a luxurious appearance and it has a nice substantial feel without being overly heavy it could be prone to scratches because after all it is made of stainless steel but so far my unit has held up just fine the stainless steel does however collect fingerprints and smudges fairly easily but that's a relatively minor gripe and since it's such a small object it takes no time to clean at all the band is made of genuine leather with real stitching along the sides and the leather that LG likes to use is very stiff and rigid that feels similar to a leather strap you may find on a woman's handbag depending on who you are you may or may not like this particular style of leather but I personally don't mind it because it holds up better against everyday wear and tear and it still feels very comfortable on the wrist the good news is the urbane takes a standard 22 millimeter band so if you really don't like the default strap at all or just want to change things up you can easily swap it out for something different the overall size of the watch will be more or less subjective this is one of the larger Android wear smartwatches available but if you're used to large watches than the urbane will feel pretty normal if you're used to something smaller this watch could take some getting used to but it definitely isn't a bulky watch by any stretch of the imagination the display is a one-point three inch P OLED screen made of Gorilla Glue last three so it should hold up well against scratches and for some added protection the glass is slightly recessed into the body of the watch to help against the accidental bumps just as you might expect the plastic OLED screen provides for some very deep blacks saturated colors high contrast ratios and it's easy to see outdoors at maximum brightness on a smartwatch OLED just makes sense not only due to its battery saving properties but also because it really makes the elements of Android wear pop the deep blacks and high contrast also make darker colored watch faces look fantastic and at 245 PPI graphics look good and text is reasonably sharp and easy to read some may find the 1.3 inch screen size to be a little on the small side but it's still very easy to use and for the most part it's a very good-looking screen performance is also quite good despite getting a little long in the tooth the snap during four hundred and half a gig of ram is more than enough to power Android wear and day-to-day performance has been very smooth animations are nice and clean without any stutter and swiping between cards notifications opening up apps and changing watch faces has all been a great experience that's on par with other Android wear watches so there isn't much to complain about here the rest of the hardware is pretty standard for an Android wear watch the urbane supports Wi-Fi Bluetooth and four gigabytes of internal storage that can be found on board along with the usual sensors like accelerometer and compass the watch is also ip67 certified so it's dust and water resistant and the obligatory heart rate monitor for monitoring your heart rate obviously sits squarely along the back at this point you may have realized that the urbane shares a lot in common with last year's G watch are from the display internals and even the same 410 milliamp hour battery so you can expect identical battery life performance of at least two days even with always screen on enabled thanks to that P OLED screen two days is fairly standard expectations for an Android wear watch so for previous or current Android wear users the battery life shouldn't be much of an issue the watch urbane is the first Android wear smartwatches shipped with the latest 5.1 and the core Android wear experience is still pretty much the same as before with actionable notifications and Google now cards showing up right on your wrist along with customizable watch faces but the update introduces some new key features always screen on mode is now available for apps so for example if you're looking at a checklist or map and the screen happens to time out you'll still be able to see in a black and white format to save battery similar to how watch faces appear when the screen is in its dim State one of the best features this update brings is Wi-Fi support meaning the watch doesn't always have to be connected to your phone via bluetooth in order to receive notifications as long as the watch is connected to a Wi-Fi network and your phone has a data connection notifications will still sync to the watch this gives Android wear more independence and you a little more freedom away from your smartphone notifications can also be scrolled through now with wrist gestures by simply flicking the wrist it can really come in handy if your other hand is full or you just don't want to touch your watch but it only works if the watch is upright so don't expect to be able to scroll through notifications with your wrist while laying down in bed to increase the level of security Google added a new feature called screen lock which is essentially pattern lock ported over to Android wear this can be enabled manually or set to lock automatically anytime you take your watch off your wrist to prevent others from snooping in on your notifications finally for a little bit of fun Google has made it very easy to send emojis just by drawing them on the screen besides the addition of new features the UI has undergone some slight cosmetic changes tapping on the screen swiping to the left or long pressing the power button now brings up a separate column for apps start contacts and these standards speak now screen this not only makes it easier and quicker to find what you need but also reduces the amount of vertical scrolling that made previous builds of Android wear a little more cumbersome to use the new features and UI enhancements bring about some very welcome changes to Android wear and for the time being it is unique to the watch urbane but if you're patient enough the 5.1 update will be making its way to other Android wear watches very soon the watch urbane is available now in stainless steel and rose gold for three $49.99 on the google store making it one of the most expensive Android wear watches to date whether it's worth or not will depend on how much you value the luxury appeal and aesthetics of the urbane because everything else this watch offers can be found on pretty much every other Android wear watch for a lesser price it is an LG fault though there's very little OMS can do to differentiate their Android wear smartwatches outside of the physical hardware but if we were to judge solely on the design then LG's got a clear winner on their hands both as a standard timepiece and a fashion item as always guys thanks so much for watching this video if you did enjoy please give a thumbs up down below we definitely appreciate it and also subscribe to the channel which is also down below if you haven't already so you don't miss out on any of our future videos and if you want to see more here from Android Authority make sure to check out the links on the side and don't forget to check out 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