During the recent V10 smartphone debut that was held in Seoul, South Korea, LG also released the second edition of the LG Watch Urbane. The unveiling comes half a year after the first edition hit the stores.
The LG Watch Urbane 2nd edition is the first Android watch to be fitted with 4G LTE connectivity. But how does it compare to the first edition?
Aesthetics
The second edition is easily distinguishable from its predecessor due to the addition of two more buttons on both sides of the crown. The bands were also moved closer to the case rather than hanging at the edges of the lugs, leaving a gap from the case. The bezel is also more defined.
Because of the changes made and the addition of the two buttons, the Urbane 2nd edition looks sportier and more modern than the first gen. Moreover, the additional buttons are not there just to accentuate the smartwatch. They can be used to quickly access the settings, populate the list of installed apps and change to one of the 16 watch faces available.
The new smartwatch is constructed using the same stainless steel and hypoallergenic TPSiV elastomer band as the first one. Buyers can opt for four color options: Space Black, Luxe White, Opal Blue or Signature Brown.
Under the Hood
Inside the new Urbane is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 clocked in at 1.2GHz, 768 MB of DDR3 RAM and 4GB of storage. It also comes equipped with connectivity options such as Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi, 4G LTE and 3G, as a nano-SIM can be inserted. Onboard sensors include an accelerometer, compass, PPG, GPS, gyro and a barometer.
As mentioned, it is the first Android smartwatch to sport 4G LTE connectivity. The first Watch Urbane had an LTE version, but it ran on WebOS.
Aside from the 4G LTE connectivity and the 50 percent increase in RAM - 512MB for the first edition - the innards of the latest version does not differ much from its predecessor that also had the same SoC and amount of eMMC storage.
Both are dust and water resistant. They have the same rating - IP67, which allows the watch to be submerged in a meter of water for approximately half an hour.
Battery Life
The second gen packs 40 percent more juice with its 570mAh battery compared to the first gen's 410mAh. Note that the first edition of the LG Watch Urbane lasted for 2 days with the display on, a highly-praised aspect of the smartwatch.
Size, Thickness and Display
The LG Watch Urbane 2nd edition has a slightly shorter diameter than that of the first one - 44.5mm for the second gen and 45.5mm for the first gen. However, it is also thicker at 14.2mm compared to the other edition that only had 10.9mm.
The big difference, however, is in the resolution. While both have a 1.38-inch Full Circle P-OLED display, the more recent release has a 480x480 resolution as opposed to the 320x320 of the first gen.
"At LG, we don't think there is a one-size-fits-all wearable device. This second edition of our Watch Urbane aims to be a must-have smart device for active individuals who want to stay connected to the world, whether they're at work, at home or on the tennis court," said Juno Cho, LG president and CEO.
Based on the comparison, the Urbane 2nd edition should still be within the first edition's price range, which was introduced to the market at around $300. However, it will be released first in the United States while South Korea. Europe, Asia, CIS and Middle East will follow after.
