LG is rumored to be continuing its rapid iteration on its Android-based smart watch as reports claim "Lucky Goldstar" or "Life's Good" is preparing to roll out 4G capabilities into the descendant of its round-faced G Watch R.
LG is coming off a Cyber Monday sale that saw the G Watch drop to $80 and a price cut to the G Watch R. To step in front of Samsung, which has been moving just as swiftly in the market, LG is reportedly preparing a G Watch R2.
News of the G Watch R2's impending launch emerged in a report that claims the 4G smart watch will debut at the Mobile World Conference in 2015.
The G Watch R2 would put LG's lineup ahead of rival Samsung's Gear Watch S, a 3G smart watch that's capable of fielding phone calls even when the paired smartphone is stowed away or left at home. While LG's G Watch R features 3G, the smart watch doesn't support calling.
The adoption rate of Samsung's Gear Watch S and its 3G calling capabilities may be hindered by the fact it will only pair with Samsung smartphones.
LG's G Watch R supports any smartphone running on Android 3.0 or higher, though it wasn't made clear the R2 will offer similar support for handsets made by rival manufacturers. Support for 4G LTE and rival products could give LG a leg up on Samsung and help Lucky Goldstar hold onto its turf when Apple finally releases its long-awaited Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch will support phone calls and will be compatible with a variety of iPhones, but it isn't clear if the smart watch will hold to the third generation of cellular or if it'll embrace 4G.
The Apple Watch won't support Wi-Fi or native GPS, unless changes are made before its 2015 debut, given the power issues with the wearable.
While Samsung, LG and Motorola have been iterating on Android Wear-based smart watches since Google I/O 2014 last summer, Apple's entry into the market will give tech enthusiasts a better picture of what the sector will look like and will encourage holdouts to finally settle on a wearable.
