The initial batch of LG G Watches have started to arrive, and I am lucky enough to have landed one. I currently use a Pebble and love everything it does for me, so my hopes for the LG G Watch are pretty big. This is not a review – I have had it less than 24 hours – but simply some quick observations and some photos comparing the LG G Watch to the Pebble.
- Build quality: It feels good in my hand and on my arm. The LG G Watch is definitely heavier than the Pebble, but it does not bother me. Also, it is hard to describe exactly why I feel this way, but the LG G Watch looks more “refined” to me. The Pebble is a good looking watch in my opinion, but the G Watch just looks better. It is sleeker and I could actually imagine seeing this on a woman’s arm, especially if you swapped out the band.
- Screen: Overall is good. It is not 1080P and you can tell. But text and icons are still very crisp, and I cannot think of a use scenario on a watch that would require some crazy high resolution.
- Watch Band: Being I am allergic to the rubber bands that these watches ship with, I obviously wish that the band was metal or leather. I also hope that a manufacturer will step up and allow us to choose, just like Motorola did with the Moto X. It is very simple to order a 22MM watch band off of Amazon and replace it yourself, but I think the watch manufacturers themselves are losing out on revenue here. Why should LG allow some third party to make money on watch bands? But do not mistake my feelings here though, the band looks great and if I was not allergic I could see myself using the stock watch band.
- Battery: I have not even had the watch for a full day yet, but just from the specs LG gives, I know this watch will not even come close to the battery life of the Pebble. The juice required to power the LCD screen of the LG G Watch versus the e-paper screen of the Pebble easily explains the difference in battery life, but I am not sure if the color LCD is worth that battery trade off yet. I think I will be ok with the loss of battery life, as long as I can still view the screen in direct sunlight.
- Charging Dock: LG provides a charging dock, USB cord, and wall plug. But it is still a proprietary charging method which means you have to come out of pocket for multiple chargers. I understand that there cannot be a simple micro USB port due to waterproofing, but there a thing called wireless charging. I know that it crazy talk, but one can dream.
- Fitness Tracker: The fact that the LG G Watch will count my steps and I do not have to waste my phone’s battery excites me. I am not a runner, but the thought of being able to see at a glance how lazy I have been appeals to me. Nothing will motivate me more to take my dog on a long walk after work than being able to glance down and see I was a piece of crap on any given day. This is a huge advantage over the Pebble for my use scenario.
Stay tuned for some more thoughts after I have had the watch for a bit. Check out the gallery below and let me know if you are grabbing one of the new Android Wear devices, sticking with your Pebble, or if all of the technology scares you and you do not want to give “The Man” another way to spy on you.
About Gavin Hall
Gavin is an awesome husband and a fan of anything that makes beep beep noises.
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