LG G Watch R hands-on

Smartwatches are all the rage here at IFA 2014 with Asus, Samsung and Sony getting in the mix and now LG has shown its first rounded smartwatch – the G Watch R.

It has a rounded watch face complete with a 1.3″ rounded POLED (plastic organic light-emitting diode) display, Snapdragon 400 chipset and a battery that will reportedly be able to endure for one day and a half to two days with the always on feature enabled.

The 1.3″ display has a resolution of 320 x 320px and a resulting density of 245ppi. There’s a Snapdragon 400 chipset with 512MB of RAM and IP67 certification for water resistance and dust proofing. The LG G Watch R is powered by a 410mAh battery.

The watch comes in two color schemes – with a silver and black steel rim around the display. The watch feels very light for its robust looks. The side-mounted button has a half press and full press functionality – half press brings the homescreen while full press brings up the settings menu. Under the home button lies a microphone for voice commands.

LG G Watch R

The watch itself feels very nice and precisely made. The strap is made out of calf leather and carries a 22mm strandard so it will be changeable with your own third party strap.

The display itself has the great characteristics of OLED technology with deep blacks that are efficient on battery life, great contrast, very good viewing angles and punchy saturated colors when looking at it head on. The resolution is more than adequate on the LG G Watch R, especially when you’re viewing the display from an arms length. OLED is also good in outdoor light thanks to its low reflectivity but it remains to be seen how the G Watch R will fare.

LG G Watch R

LG has made 9 watch faces for the G Watch R but we’re guessing more will make it to the device sooner or later. We like the designs – all of them are pretty classy and sophisticated. The LG G Watch R will default to its watch face within 5 seconds of non-use.

On the bottom of the LG G Watch R there is a heartrate sensor as well, which is always in contact with your skin.

LG G Watch R

Overall the LG G Watch R is one of the best smartwatches we’ve seen so far. It looks great and is made with attention to detail.