Yesterday at Google IO Google gave the world a sneak peak at some of the features of their upcoming Android Wear OS. They also announced that the first two smartwatches running the new operating system would be available for purchase from Google Play starting today. The first of these is the LG G Watch. LG has now updated the product page for the G Watch with some more information. The watch has a 1.65″ IPS display with a resolution of 280×280 for a pixel density of 240ppi, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND, Bluetooth 4.0, and a 400mAh (1.52Wh) battery. The second smartwatch that will be available to order is Samsung’s Gear Live smartwatch which also runs Android Wear. According to Samsung the Gear Live is similar in specifications to the LG G Watch with the same 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8026, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND, Bluetooth 4.0, and IP67 rated dust and water resistance.
During Google I/O earlier today, Google mentioned that both the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live would be available from the Google Play Store later today, and sure enough they are. Both devices have gone live on the Google Play Store and are available for pre-order, although both devices will be shipped at different times. According to the Play Store listing, the LG G Watch will be priced at $229 and will begin shipping on the 3rd of July. As for the Samsung Gear Live, it has been priced $199 and will be shipping by the 8th of July, although with the Gear Live being priced $30 cheaper than the LG G Watch, it might end up being the more attractive option. Both devices have their pros and cons. For example the Gear Live has a slightly smaller battery compared to the G Watch. However the Gear Live does have a slightly higher resolution and uses an AMOLED display, versus LG’s LCD IPS, so that’s worth consideration as well. However apart from that, the innards appear to be quite similar but will vary on size and weight. As expected there is no mention of the Moto 360 because Google stated that the Moto 360 would only be arriving later in the summer, so if you were looking forward to the stylish Moto 360, you’ll have to wait a bit, although we still have no idea how much the device will cost. So, which watch are you planning on picking up?
