Google will launch two new smartwatches running Android Wear 2.0 on Feb. 9, a new report says.
VentureBeat spilled the beans on the new Google smartwatches on Tuesday. The report says Google's two wearables will be built by LG and start shipping in the U.S. the day after they're announced.
According to the report, the smartwatches, which will be calledthe LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style, closely resemble the mockups published by Android Police back in July.
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Both smartwatches will have round "plastic OLED" screens; the Watch Sport with a 1.38-inch screen (480 x 480 resolution) and the Watch Style with a 1.2-inch (360 x 360 resolution) screen.
The larger Watch Sport will also have a thicker 14.2mm case compared to the Watch Style's slimmer 10.8mm case. For comparison, Samsung's latest Gear S3 is 12.9mm thick and the 42mm Apple Watch Series 2 is 11.4mm thick. Both smartwatches will also brandish a button similar to the Apple Watch's digital crown that'll be used for navigation.
While both models will have built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for pairing to smartphones and Wi-Fi networks, the Watch Sport will also have a few extras like built-in 4G LTE (like the Gear S3) to support Android Pay, GPS, NFC, a heart-rate monitor, more RAM (768MB vs. 512MB) and a larger battery (430mAh vs. 240mAh). Both smartwatches will have 4GB of internal storage -- pretty standard for a smartwatch.
The larger Watch Sport will have built-in LTE, GPS, NFC, heart rate sensor, more RAM and a bigger battery.
Another difference will be the level of weatherproofing. The Watch Sport is said to be IP68-rated (can be immersed in water beyond 3.2 feet and more than 30 minutes), whereas the Watch Style will only be IP67-rated (immersion up to 3.2 feet and as long as 30 minutes).
One thing the smaller Watch Style will reportedly have going for it is swappable bands (possibly with Google's MODE watch bands. VentureBeat claims the Watch Style will come in three colors: titanium, silver and rose gold. The Watch Sport will apparently only come in two colors: titanium and dark blue.
The Google Assistant (available on the Pixels and Google Home) will also be integrated into the wearables in some capacity, although it's unclear how much of a central role it'll play.
New smartwatches are nice, but existing Android Wear smartwatch owners will still be able to get some of the new features. According to iPhonesIsrael's Nati Shochat, these are the 18 smartwatches that will get Android Wear 2.0 via a software update:
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Topics Google Smartwatches
