Android Wear and the LG G Watch Review

I was originally going to write this post two weeks in, however I decided to spend some more time with the platform and the hardware. I feel this extra time has given me a significantly greater scope of the experience these two create together.

Hardware

The LG G Watch is nothing if not a minimal window into the world that is Android Wear. An understated bezel that is held by a steel frame. Its spartan aesthetic has an air of pragmatism, flaunting no unnecessary chrome and no buttons either. It has interchangeable 22mm straps, the one's it comes with are made of rubber and have not let me down. The clasp is matte black and pretty much disappears around your wrist.

The 1.65” IPS LCD touchscreen has a resolution of 280 by 280. It does a great job of displaying information clearly, especially the time (which is the main purpose of a watch). Unfortunately, there has yet to be a modern day display technology (bar e-ink of course) that can successfully display data in direct sunlight. This is still one of the pain points in the smartwatch category.

Included is a mic built into the outer rim of the steel bezel below the face to entertain all of your "Ok Google" queries and requests. As mentioned earlier this device has no buttons which means not even one for power. I can appreciate this approach seeing as watches never really turn off since they have to tick along to keep time. This could be a bit of a problem though seeing as if you turn off the G watch the only way to turn it back on is to dock it on it's cradle. The cradle is a perfect fit for the back of the G Watch and the contacts on the back are not something that you will notice lest you go looking for them. Something of note is that charging this device on the go is less than ideal, getting it to sit on it's cradle in a bag is an effort in futility unless you have something to bind them temporarily while you top off its battery.

It has  a 400mAH battery that will keep you chugging through a full day of use or a little over a day of light usage. Compared to the Pebble you might think that this is simply unacceptable, but I find it more than adequate despite the hardware decisions made and software functionality featured.

Software

Android Wear is Google's stab at a wearable operating system, and of all the places it could start, I find no better foundation for Wear than Google Now. Google now is, in a few words that don't do it justice, the company's learning virtual assistant. In reality it is an artificial intelligence that puts things that you will need together for you as you need them. This and it's ability to answer questions and requests via voice are some of its more significant features. Having this on your phone is a remarkable resource, having it on your wrist is a game changer. 

Something refreshing about Android Wear is that Google approached this product with the understanding that these devices are watches first and that any other feature followed this key principle. The LG G Watch works as a stand alone watch, however to be able to ask Google questions and receive notifications from your phone, these must be paired. It comes with a series of watch faces to pick and choose from, all of which will more often than not have a small card laid over the bottom edge of the screen presenting some relevant information, be it the weather outside or the amount of steps you have taken, or anything you may have Google Now configured to report to you.

Aside from presenting information on it's own you can ask for information as well, you can also have it take voice notes, set reminders or ask for directions among many other things. One of my favorite features is the ability to reply to messages using voice, this is something that I use often when in a pinch or a situation where I can't pull out my phone. All of this presents itself, completes its task and leaves as promptly as possible so that your watch can return to being just that.

So, are there apps for this? Yes and no. Yes there are applications that will leverage Wear as a platform and as of now you can order pizza from your watch or get recipes on it. You don't however install applications on the watch, the paired phone will send the Wear compatible applications that it has installed to the watch via the Android Wear app. 

Wrap Up

LG has made an elegant rendition of what a watch should look like today, and given an excellent canvas for Android Wear to thrive. It's not easy being to first to market for a small sleek device that has a color screen and an always-on listening feature. After looking at this I can understand and am impressed with the power management that must go into this little marvel. 

Where the screen isn't entirely visible in direct sunlight and the battery life lasts a day, these are all things that are ephemeral, shortcomings of the technologies available currently. I'm really excited about the things that Google is doing with Wear and to see the approach that they have taken. What we have seen here is but a glimpse of what is possible with wearables. 

Android Wear is in its infancy and already it has a vibrant community of developers ready to tap into its potential. Is the platform flawless? I have yet to run into any issues with it, it does what it says seamlessly and meets the ultimate goal of "getting out of the way". As out of the way as it can anyway, without the user putting it in the way when a notification buzzes in. Regardless, I am excited of what the future holds for Wear and what the third-party industry and Google will do with it.