The LG Watch Urbane. Photo via lgnewsroom.com
LG Electronics will take the wraps off its first all-metal luxury Android Wear smartwatch, the LG Watch Urbane, at the Mobile World Congress 2015 event in Barcelona, Spain, next month.
With a stainless steel body available in silver or gold and a stitched leather strap, the LG Watch Urbane has been designed to resemble an old-fashioned luxury timepiece, suggesting that the South Korean consumer tech firm is going all out to convert traditionalists to smartwatches. Even the promotional imagery released is not so much Apple-esque minimalism as it is high-end fashion.
The Watch Urbane will be equipped with the same 1.3-inch full circle display as LG’s previously released G Watch R, albeit with a slimmer bezel.
As is to be expected, the device comes with a touch-based user interface and will be compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above. Also included is a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that can track a user’s heart rate and average pulse during exercise.
LG has strived to make its Watch Urbane smartwatch an everyday accessory
“The LG Watch Urbane’s classic design and smart features make it the perfect smartwatch to complement our G Watch and G Watch R, which were designed as more casual and active devices,” Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, said in a statement.
“LG Watch Urbane is an important part of our strategy to develop wearable devices that are worn and viewed as everyday accessories, not electronic gadgets.”
Whether or not targeting this new demographic can provide smartwatches with a real boost remains to be seen, but the device is certainly handsome to gaze upon.
Details on the LG Watch Urbane’s price has yet to be announced. The Mobile World Congress 2015 takes place from 2-5 March.
The LG Watch Urbane will be available in silver or gold
