Introduction and display
The Motorola Moto 360 was hotly anticipated as the first circular Android Wear device, but its screen isn't actually a full circle. The display on the LG G Watch R however, is.
The G Watch R finally sees the fusion between the new wave of smartwatches and the tried and tested design of traditional wristwatches - but does the combination work?
It's still relatively early doors for the smartwatch revolution, and Android Wear is certainly still in its infancy. This has been clear as the early wave of devices we've seen have been a little half baked.
At £220 (around $300, AU$280) the G Watch R isn't cheap, it's comfortably more expensive than the square-shaped LG G Watch (£159, $229, AU$250), Sony Smartwatch 3 (£189) and Samsung Gear Live (£169, $199, AU$250), so if you've just splashed the cash on a new handset it's a considerable additional payment.
That said the price has dropped slightly since launch, and you can now get it for £199.99 if you shop around a little in the UK.
As with all the Android Wear devices the LG G Watch R will work with any Android handset running Android 4.3 or above - and there's even rumours suggesting Google may open up compatibility to iOS devices too, so watch this space.
In terms of specs the G Watch R is relatively well equipped with a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 410mAh battery.
Compared to the Moto 360 that's a better processor and larger battery, plus you also get a barometer, heart rate monitor and 9-Axis (which includes a gyro, accelerometer and compass).
Display
The LG G Watch R sports a full circle P-OLED display measuring 1.3-inches in diameter, making it slightly smaller than the 1.56-inch offering on the Moto 360 - but did I mention, it's an circle!
While the 360 only has a resolution of 320 x 290, the smaller G Watch R is slightly higher at 320 x 320, giving you a clearer, crisper display.
Putting the two round watches side by side there's a clear difference between them and the G Watch R certainly looks better.
There's no question that the circular displays are more aesthetically pleasing than the square design of the Gear Live and G Watch, but those have the advantage of working with a wider array of apps, as some aren't built for round devices.
The always-on screen means there's no waiting for it to wake when you check the time, and the fully circular design can be mistaken for a traditional timepiece from afar if you've selected a watch face which suits.
During my review time with the G Watch R I never had an issue with the screen in direct sunlight, and I tended to keep the brightness on its lowest setting, which seemed to suffice in most lighting conditions.
That's good for battery life, as I rarely needed to raise it up, and I never required the full brightness setting.
Design and comfort
I've not been the only person to bemoan the design of smartwatches and the fact that they generally don't have the style of a traditional timepiece - so much so you'd question even slapping the Samsung Gear Live or LG G Watch to your wrist.
Thankfully though with the introduction of the LG G Watch R and Moto 360 there's a sign manufacturers are cottoning on to the fact that a device with subtle, stylish design will be looked on more favourably in this market.
The Moto 360 is certainly an attractive piece of kit, and it's probably the nicest looking smartwatch currently on the market, but the G Watch R takes the award for looking most like a traditional watch.
If you're already accustomed to wearing a normal timepiece - and I'm not talking about a slimline Casio digital affair - then the size of the G Watch R will be natural.
It measures 46.4 x 53.6 x 11.1mm, making it slightly thinner than the 11.5mm Moto 360, and at 62g it's lighter than the majority of mainstream analogue watches.
The LG G Watch R only comes in the one size, there's not a series of sizes, colours and straps like Apple Watch, so if you're not a fan of black and your wrists are on the more slender side this may not be for you.
It doesn't look quite as premium as the Moto 360 either, with the watch bezel looking like plastic rather than metal which cheapens the appearance of the device.
There is a crown on the right side of the G Watch R, but it doesn't spin round, instead it acts as the power/wake button. You're unlikely to really use it after initially turning the watch on, but its inclusion provides the illusion that this is a watch rather than a mini computer strapped to your wrist.
Then there's the leather strap which, when you first take it out of the box, neither looks nor feels like leather. It appears cheap and doesn't feel particularly nice.
After a good week or so of use though the leather softened up and the strap felt more natural to the touch and on the wrist.
Luckily you can swap the strap out for any other 22mm offering, allowing you to bring some customisation to the G Watch R, and possibly some class as well.
On the rear of the watch itself you'll find a centralised heart rate monitor and five gold connector pins to one side which connect with the charging dock. While the main case of the G Watch R is metal, there's no mistaking the plastic backing.
It's not an issue and against the wrist it feels fine, plus with IP67 dust and waterproofing you'll be able to hop in the shower with the LG G Watch R without having to worry. In fact the G Watch R can be dunked into fresh water (no swimming in the sea or a pool, then) at the depth of up to one meter for 30 minutes.
Interface and performance
The LG G Watch R runs Google's Android Wear platform, and the on-screen experience is pretty much identical to all the other smartwatches using the same software.
The G Watch R has been upgraded to Android Wear 5.0.1 since launching, bringing it inline with Google's Lollipop update for phones and tablets.
It comes with an emphasis on watch faces, so you get a couple of extra stock ones and the ability to download a host of others, from Pacman to Santa.
The choice will grow as more and more developers get behind the platform, and you can now change the watch face from the Android Wear app on your phone - something I found easier than having to cycle through all the options on the G Watch R.
There's not a lot manufacturers can tweak here to give you a unique experience, so you're stuck with the familiar information cards which appear as and when Google Now decides.
For example, travel times and routes to and from work will display in the morning before you leave the house and before you finish at work in the evening, while the step counter is one of the most persistent cards available.
You can swipe vertically from the bottom of the screen to flick through the available cards, a swipe from left to right will remove a card from the list while moving you finger in the opposite direction will take you to more options.
The G Watch R provides you with an easy to follow tutorial when you first fire it up, and it shouldn't take you too long to get used to the basics.
'Settings' has been made easier to access with the 5.0.1 update, with the option being moved to the top of the list when in Google Now mode - saving you from having to scroll all the way to the bottom.
In settings you can access screen brightness, power off, restart, reset and about - the latter of which has an option to check for software updates, although you'll usually get notified with a card on the watch if there's a new version of Android Wear available.
The 'Start' menu meanwhile shows you all the applications installed on the G Watch R, but more about them on the next page.
There are a welcome number of watch faces pre-installed on the G Watch R, with some traditional timepiece lookalikes mixed in with some modern designs too.
Just hold down on the clock face to see the selection on offer and tap on the one that takes your fancy.
You can download more watch faces, I was particularly partial to 'Secret Agent', which will be familiar to anyone who's played Goldeneye.
Flick your wrist and the dimmed display with light up, alerting you that the G Watch R is ready and listening for an 'Okay Google' command from you.
The voice activation works pretty well, from setting alarms and taking notes to sending emails and making calls - the G Watch R had little trouble understanding what I said and putting my words into action.
It's no perfect though, and on several occasions the G Watch R didn't service me with the right words, which adds considerable delay to your message composition and makes you wish you'd just got your phone out and typed it.
It also still feels rather odd talking to your wrist, and I rarely found myself barking at the watch in public places.
The voice commands certainly come in handy when you're driving or if you're out on a run. At home I used the voice recognition more, but it's still quicker to pick up your phone and bash out a text if you're hands are free.
The Moto 360 disappointed in its full review when it came to performance, but the good news here is the LG G Watch R sports a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, providing a decent slug of power to your wrist.
It comes with 512MB of RAM, the same as the other Android Wear devices, and I was able to move around the interface easily. Performance seems to have taken a bit of a hit since the 5.0.1 update though, with load times noticeably longer every now and then.
I'm hoping another quick update will solve this, but for now it's a little annoying.
Apps and fitness
Before you can get to grips with your LG G Watch R you'll need to visit Google Play on your smartphone and download the Android Wear app.
You'll then be instructed on the watch face and within the app on pairing the two devices together, once paired you're good to go.
There's nothing particularly ground breaking pre-installed with Android Wear, the standard compatibility with Google's apps (calendar, Gmail, Hangouts, Maps etc) is present along with the likes of Weather and Fit - the latter of which you'll use to monitor your steps and heart rate.
Unlike the Moto 360, LG hasn't provided its own management app for the G Watch R and there's no dedicated heart rate application which monitors your pulse throughout the day.
You have to manually navigate to the app on the watch and have it check your heart rate that way, which is a little clumsy.
If you can't be bothered to navigate with your fingers you can always just say "Okay Google, show me my steps/heart rate" which does make the process easier.
For those of you who want you text messages on the G Watch R your phone's stock SMS client will ping new message notifications to your wrist, but for full functionality including the ability to reply and read message chains you'll need to use Google's Hangouts app.
That's not a huge issue, Hangouts works pretty much the same way as any other SMS app, and you won't have any trouble getting to grips with it.
Being able to read a message stream on your wrist is useful, as is the ability to reply with a pre-determined stock message such as "Yes", "I'm running late" or "I'm in a meeting" - or for a more personal touch you can speak your response.
The Google Maps integration is handy, giving you turn by turn directions on wrist - I found this particularly useful when walking round London looking for an office, as I didn't have to get my phone out and hold it in front of my face as I strolled down the road.
As part of the Android Wear 4.4w.2 update Google enabled a Play Music function which allows you to store music files directly on your smartwatch.
Fire up Play Music on your smartphone and enable 'Download to Android Wear' to get your tunes sent across to the G Watch R.
You can then pair a set of bluetooth headphones with the watch and listen to your tracks without the need for a smartphone.
You've got to keep in mind that G Watch R only has 4GB of internal storage, so it may not be able to store your whole music collection, plus you'll want to keep some space to download other apps.
The number of available apps for Android Wear is increasing, and you can jump to a selection via the Wear app on your phone.
This will take you to a dedicated are of the Play Store where most of the big names who have committed to the platform so far (Facebook, Twitter, RunKeeper etc) can be found.
There are many more ready to go though. Download the Wear Store app and it gives you access to hundreds of apps and games which have been crafted for your wrist wearable.
You'll need to check that the app you're downloading has been built with the G Watch R's circular screen in mind, as a fair few have only been developed for the square screens of the Smartwatch 3, Gear Live and G Watch.
Quality varies wildly, and there's a fair amount of duplication, but expect the selection be become more varied and increase in quality as more and more developers jump aboard the wearable wagon.
When it comes to fitness the LG G Watch R is relatively rudimental in its functionality. The step counter is handy for a quick glance at your daily progress, but the lack of any real analysis makes it difficult to gauge performance over weeks and months.
You can adjust your step goal from 1000 all the way up to 20000 per day and there's a bar chart to show you your weekly steps, but that's it.
LG decided against including GPS in the G Watch R, so Sony's Smartwatch 3 remains the only device with the location function which has just been unlocked in the 4.4w.2 software update.
The heart rate monitor adds another metric to the fitness side of things, but like the pedometer there's little functionality for analysis with a history of readings the only insight you get.
There's certainly the chance to expand these functions and we could always see Google build on them in future software releases, but for now they'll be little use to those serious on tracking their fitness.
Battery life and connectivity
One of the biggest sticking points with smartwatches is battery life, and unfortunately things are no different with the LG G Watch R.
First up, the good news. The G Watch R sports a 410mAh battery which is bigger than the 320mAh power pack stuffed into the Moto 360.
The G Watch R then, delivers better battery performance over its rounded Motorola rival as well as the square faced options, but don't get too excited. I found that the G Watch R could last two days on a single charge, but no longer than that.
So while the nightly charging ritual isn't required, having to charge it every other night is just as frustrating.
I still look in envy at the likes of the Pebble and Pebble Steel which can get seven days from one charge, but that's understandable with black and white displays and fewer functions.
Still, having to charge your watch as well as your smartphone on a bi-nightly, if not nightly, basis is counter productive and it will put off a number of people.
LG provides a similar magnetic charging cradle to the one bundled with the original G Watch, only this time it's round to fit the shape of the G Watch R.
It's easy to plonk the G Watch R down on it at night, but there were a few times I forgot and then had the watch die on me in the middle of the day with the charging cradle back at home.
Without that there's no way to recharge the watch and thus it's ultimately useless if you go away and forget this vital piece of kit.
The Qi wireless charging cradle for the Moto 360 is a lot more stylish in its implementation and useful as it doubles as a bedside/desk clock while it sits on the stand, but again you're constrained by the need for the cradle.
The Sony Smartwatch 3 has a microUSB port on the side, allowing you to charge it using a standard smartphone cable which is far more practical, but adds additional bulk to the device.
In short the charging solution for the G Watch R isn't terrible, but it's also not the best and the fact it can't go more than two days on a single charge is still a huge irritation.
Connectivity wise Android Wear smartwatches are still pretty limited. The LG G Watch R sports Bluetooth 4.0 and that's about it.
There's no GPS, NFC or cellular connections available and as I've already mentioned it's also devoid of a microUSB port.
You also can't build on the 4GB of internal storage with a memory card, but hey, at least it has a barometer.
Verdict
The LG G Watch R has got one thing right, it actually looks like a watch. While it may not appear as premium as the Moto 360, it's personally my favourite looking smartwatch to date.
There's still a long way for Android Wear to go to become truly useful, and justifying the G Watch R's price tag is difficult.
We liked
The design will always be subjective, and while some people told me the G Watch R looked a bit cheap and plastic, I am rather taken with it.
It's unassuming and that's what I want. People catch it out the corner of their eye and instead of recoiling in horror at the ugly computer strapped to my wrist, they gloss over it thinking it's nothing more than a simple time piece.
The display is also worth shouting about. While the Moto 360 had a larger screen which made text a little larger and easier to read, the higher resolution display of the G Watch R is easier on the eye, while the P-OLED screen delivers strong colours.
Performance wise the Watch R holds in own in the market, and it bests the 360 which suffers from an underpowered chip inside.
We disliked
At two days the battery life is better than most of the Android Wear competition, but considering you don't have to charge a normal watch ever, every two days is still pretty annoying.
Add to that the fact you have to have the charging cradle with you to charge it and things can get very frustrating if you've left it at home.
The price is very steep. The LG G Watch R doesn't really offer anything additional over the G Watch, Smartwatch 3 and Gear Live - all of which are a good chunk cheaper.
Android Wear in its current form is still limited. I'm sure more functionality will be added in future software updates, but for now it still feels rather half baked.
There are certain use case scenarios which highlight the benefit of a smartwatch, but most of the time it really isn't that much effort to pick up your phone and check your notifications.
Verdict
The LG G Watch R is one of the best smartwatches on the market, but it's still far from a polished device.
Android Wear needs more work, it still feels odd talking into your wrist - especially in public places - and the price tag is a hard one to swallow - especially if you've just bought a new handset.
It's difficult to really recommend any of the smartwatches currently on the market as they're yet to carve a path which makes them really a nesscessary addition to your day to day life.
Sure the G Watch R is fun to show off to your friends, and its unassuming design means it blends far better into your wrist, but should you buy one?
Only if you really, really want to.
First reviewed: October 2014
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